Gregory Loud Horror Story
by Thefoxmage
Summary: Lost in a storm with no idea how he got there, Lincoln Loud finds himself at Gregory House, with a limited memory. Will the one son survive his time at this house of horrors, or will his soul join the many other tortured souls residing there? Warning: NSL Story. Rated T for now, may turn to M later depending.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: A really strange combo, I know, but one I thought I would give a try. I had finished this chapter, and a second chapter (since I plan to make each one fairly short to match the Gregory Horror Show) already, but I wanted to try and get the latest chapter of LLATNSRW finished first before I posted this. As I said in the summary, this is a NSL story (though it won't really fully come into play until later). I know it's over done. I know a lot of people are probably sick of such stories. I understand that. However, I cannot deny that a lot of my favorite stories are NSL stories. Plus, I don't think I'll be taking it the same direction as most (I cannot say for certain, as I haven't read every NSL story, but I can hope). Just give it a chance and let me know what you what you think of the idea. Would you like to see where it goes, or should this story go back on the shelf?_

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A Loud's Arrival

Thunder roared throughout the dark, foggy woods, lightning flashing and torrential rain pouring into the face of a white haired boy as he struggled to fight through the storm. He had no idea how he got there, nor what he was doing there. However, he also didn't have an opportunity to think about it. His first priority was to get out of the storm. He ducked behind a tree to keep the wind and rain out of his face long enough to get a quick look around. For the most part, all he saw was eerie woods all around. However, a little further ahead, he could see a path through an old graveyard, leading to an old, yet well kept old house. He couldn't really make out very many details about it from that distance in the rain. However, he wasn't in a position to complain: he needed shelter. He braced himself and started to struggle through the storm and rain toward the building. The closer he got, he realized the old building was...pretty well maintained all things considered. The name over the door said 'Gregory House', over old wooden doors with oddly mouse shaped door knockers on each door. The candles set to either side of the door were blown out by the storm. There seemed to be a light in a few of the windows, telling the young man someone was home. Hopefully they were hospitable people, he thought to himself as he tested the door. To his surprise, it was unlocked. While he thought it would be more polite to knock first, he decided he needed to get out of this cursed rain. He jumped right in and closed the door. He was sopping wet, his orange polo shirt and jeans dripping on the front mat. He sighed as he looked down at himself. "Well now...look at you…" came a sly soft voice from nearby. The white haired boy looked up to see an elderly mouse man with scraggy white hair in a salmon colored jacket over a red and green striped shirt and khaki pants came slowly walking toward him, a candle in hand.

"Um...hello…"

"Hello yourself. Where did you come from, young man? And what brings you out here in such horrid weather?"

"I came from…" He started to say, but he was forced to pause. He thought it over, but he couldn't really remember where he had come from. "...I...can't really remember...and I have no idea why I was out in that storm…"

"Really now? Tsk tsk tsk. Do you perhaps remember your name?"

"...yeah. My name is Lincoln Loud."

"Well, that is something at least. Hm hmm hmm…" The aged mouse said as he turned around and motioned Lincoln to follow him. "I'm Gregory, the owner of this fine establishment." The young man glanced around the lobby area for a moment. To call this place a 'fine establishment' would be something of a stretch in his eyes. To be fair, the room looked like it was well kept. The green and yellow papered walls looked clean, same with the hardwood floors, and the reception desk was dust free and polished nicely. However, something about the place was giving the eleven year old boy the creeps something fierce.

"...I'm sorry for just barging in like that…"

"Oh, no need to apologize, Mr Loud." Gregory replied, waving off his apology with a throaty chuckle. "Any old port in the storm, am I right?" The elderly rodent made his way over to a trio of wall hooks set into the wall by the desk, taking a ring of old brass keys. "I am sure you must be exhausted, and will want to get out of those soaking wet clothes. Come with me. I will show you to your room…"

"Er...I don't really have much in the way of money…" Lincoln said nervously. "Also, don't I need to sign a registry or something?"

"We can worry about all that in the morning. Now, come along, before you catch your...death of cold. Hm hm hm hm hm…" Something about how he said that, and even more with his laugh, sent a chill down the human boy's spine worse than the rain.

'Not sure if this guy or this house is creepier…' Lincoln thought to himself as he followed Gregory through the candle lit halls. 'I mean, I'm grateful to be out of the storm, but this place seems more like something Lucy would appreciate more than me…' He came to a stop after that thought crossed his mind. 'Wait...Lucy? How do I know a Lucy?'

"Something the matter, young man?" Gregory asked, turning to look at his new guest.

"I...no. It's nothing, sir. Just...had a thought." Lincoln replied.

"Ah. I see. Well, come along, and bring your case with you."

"Case?" The white haired boy looked down and noticed he had a suitcase in his right hand. 'Was that there this whole time? How did I not notice?' He shook off this latest question. It really wasn't important right now. He had more vital questions on his mind; so many that it was starting to hurt. He needed to rest.

"Are you all by yourself out here, young man?"

"...I think so."

"Really now? What are you, ten? Such neglect...your parents should be ashamed."

"Eleven, actually." The young boy responded, though he couldn't really deny what he said. He had no idea why, but he was very upset with his parents, even if he could hardly remember them. After travelling up a set of stairs and another couple seconds of walking, they finally arrived at room 203.

"Here we go, my friend." The snickering old rodent said as he unlocked the door and gently pushed the door open. Inside was a simple, small room with only a bed, a desk with a candle on it, and a wardrobe in the corner. Over the bed was a little framed picture of a cat. "What do you think?"

"It's...quite nice." Lincoln commented, and he meant it. The room was rather nice, compared to the rest of what he had seen so far.

"Thank you. I'm sure you want to get some sleep, so I will just leave you to it." Gregory said, allowing Lincoln into the room. "If you need anything further, my friend, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Er...thank you, sir…"

"Oh, no need to be so formal. Please, call me Gregory. Sleep well, Mr Loud." He said as he closed the door to Lincoln's room. As soon as he was alone, the young man changed into his pajamas, which he had in his suitcase.

"Well...I'm not sure how I got here...or even where here is…" Lincoln said, speaking to the fourth wall. "...but it's like Gregory said...any old port in the storm. I guess it was really lucky I found-" The moment he said the word lucky, he found himself overcome with a sense of intense nausea. "Ugh...that was strange. I wonder what brought that on." He pondered out loud. "Ah, nevermind...too many questions and I'm too tired to consider them right now." He finally grumbled. He climbed into bed and started to close his eyes...only to open them wide as one last thought occurred to him. He sprang out of bed and rushed to the door, turning the lock on it. He breathed a sigh of relief before he went back to his bed. He may be grateful to Gregory for the hospitality, but something about that mouse felt off to him. He didn't trust him any further than he could throw him. Feeling a little bit safer, he climbed back into bed and prepared himself for a hopefully good night's sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting Neko Zombie

Meeting Neko Zombie

**"I was awakened suddenly by a loud racket in the halls. It sounded like a cat getting into a fight. So much for a peaceful night's sleep…"**

He wasn't sure what time it was when he woke up, but some time late in what he believed to be the night, he was woken with a start by the sound of loud screeching and wailing not far away from his room. This screeching was followed by Gregory yelling at the source, telling it to shut up, and finally with the slamming of a metal door. The young man hopped out of bed and ran over to his door, unlocking it and peeking outside. Gregory was coming down the hall, looking pretty irate. He stopped when he saw the white haired boy and tried to smile reassuringly. "My apologies for disturbing you, Mr Loud. It was just an unruly guest. The situation has been dealt with, though. You shouldn't be disturbed again." He told Lincoln before he wandered off. The human boy closed the door for a moment, waiting for Gregory to be well and clear before he carefully opened his door and tip toed down the hall to see if he could find out what had been going on. He comes to the only metal door in the corridor, which had a padlock in the door handle and a peep slot. Against his better judgement, he slid the slot open and peeked inside. The interior looked like a medieval dungeon cell. The prisoner within: a cat boy with stitched on patches of fur in certain places, as well as stitched up eye lids, ears and mouth. He was wearing a striped shirt and a manacle on his leg attached to a ball and chain. The one son held a hand to his mouth, horrified and sickened by the sight.

"I'm so hungry…" the young feline moaned, holding his head. He felt sorry for the poor creature, so the gears started turning in his head. He thought the kitchen was probably closed at this point, but maybe he had something. He quietly returned to his room and checked his suitcase. Jackpot. He found a bar of chocolate in his case. He grabbed the candy and hurried back to the stitched up cat's cell.

"Psst." He whispered softly, which got the undead feline's attention. "Here. I have something for you." He stuck the chocolate bar through the slot. The cat slowly approached the door, cautious. "It's ok. It's y-"

"MWWAAAAAARRR!" The cat leapt at the door, startling the young man into falling back with a yelp, the candy falling into the dungeon room. Lincoln breathed heavily with fright, not realizing Gregory was standing right beside him.

"Are you alright, my friend?" The old mouse inquired, offering a wrinkled hand to help him up.

"Y...yeah. I think so…" The middle Loud responded, taking his hand as he got to his feet.

"Such a horrible beast, isn't he?" The creepy rodent commented, glaring at the door. "He'll literally bite the hand that feeds him...hence why we only feed him twice a day…"

"Oh...I'm sorry...I didn't know…"

"Oh, do not fret, Mr Loud. I know you were only trying to help. It's a shame that there are some people in this world that are just unworthy of such kindness." Gregory shook his head, clucking his tongue a bit before he strode down the hall. "At any rate, have a good night, my friend."

"Right...good night, Gregory." Lincoln answered, a little shaken from the experience. He was about to walk away when he heard a soft, somewhat harsh voice speak.

"Let me give you some free advice, kid…" The cat creature was saying. "...around here, no good deed goes unpunished…" The one son blinked as the flap snapped shut. This left him scratching his head as he headed back to his room. He laid back down on the bed, but after that little bit of rest he gotten, he couldn't stop himself from pondering all the questions that had been on his mind prior. What was he doing here? Where even was here? Why was he all alone, with a suitcase no less? Was he travelling and got lost? Was he abandoned? Run away? Where was his family? And why couldn't he remember them? ….did he even want to? And what was up with that cat creature? Was what he said a threat...or a warning?


	3. Chapter 3: The most important meal

The most important meal

**"I lay awake most of the night, so many thoughts buzzing around my head, I couldn't rest my mind. After what felt like hours, I gave up trying. My stomach was growling anyway. I hope the restaurant's open…"**

With his attempt to sleep any further a total failure, Lincoln decided it was time to get up. He changed out of his pjs and into a change of his usual clothes before departing his room. As he stepped out into the hall, he could hear someone chanting to his right. He turned to see a strange being that looked like a set of scales going down another corridor. "Do you know who I am? They call me Judgement Boy." The being chanted as he seemed to float away. The one son scratched his head as he headed for the stairwell leading down to the lobby. He wondered briefly if his eyes and mind were playing tricks on him.

'Then again, I encountered a rat person and a cat zombie just the...previous night? Is it even morning?' He thought to himself. 'Is this whole place just a hallucination? No... I don't think so. Feels way too real…'

"Oh. Hello there, my friend." Gregory greeted the young man from behind the reception desk, a creepy smile on his face. "Sleep well?"

"For a little while, I guess." Lincoln replied, trying to be polite to the old rat. After all, he was being kind enough to let the young man stay at this hotel after all. "How about you?"

"Oh, I haven't slept yet. Won't until much later. Too much work to do."

"Really? Pardon my saying so, but isn't that kinda unhealthy for someone your age?" Lincoln inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, don't you worry about me, my friend. I may be old, but I still have some spirit in me. But enough about me. I bet you are famished."

"Now that you mention it…" The one son said, holding his empty belly. "...I am pretty hungry. Is the restaurant open?"

"It's always open." Gregory responded, gesturing toward a door past the stairs to Lincoln's left. "Might I recommend the breakfast special? It's our chef's favorite dish."

"What's it made of?"

"Oh, mostly scrambled eggs, with some fresh wild green onion and chives, and fresh meat pieces."

"That does sound good. How much is it?" The white haired boy said with a small smile.

"Don't worry about it, my friend. This one is on the house." The elderly rodent waved it off with nary a care. Lincoln's smile faded.

"Are you sure?" His question was met with a simple, silent nod. "...I appreciate that, Gregory, but you've already been so generous just letting me stay without worrying about payment...I wouldn't feel right taking a free meal too…" His face suddenly lit up as he got an idea. "Hey. Maybe there is something I can do to help out around here? Work off my bill?"

"That's not really necessary, Mr Loud...buuut I wouldn't mind an extra pair of hands helping out, and if it will make you feel better, I happily accept your offer." The long tailed hotel owner responded. "But you can worry about that after a hearty breakfast. Now off you go." He shooed the young man off toward the restaurant door. Lincoln didn't need telling twice. He was really hungry now. He hurried off to the door, nearly bumping into a somewhat overweight dog man in a gray suit.

"Oh! Excuse me."

"It's alright, young man. No harm, no foul." The canine man replied kindly. Lincoln looked up and blinked in surprise. The man's head was almost completely wrapped in bandages, but the oddest thing about him was the scimitar planted firmly on the top of his head, still kind of bleeding from the wound. "Have a good day."

"Uh...you too, sir…" Lincoln replied nervously as the wounded man waddled off with a wave. Once more, the young man questioned the reliability of his senses as he entered the dining room. The room looked quite cozy, if as creepy as the rest of the house. There was a single table, but it spanned across most of the spacious room, with several chairs lined up all along it, one situated at either end. The only one in there at the moment was a pink lizard woman with dark pink spots wearing a nurse's outfit...a rather small nurse's outfit with a short white skirt, white stockings and black shoes. She was rather curvy and her face was quite made up with mascara, eye shadow, blush and lipstick. The white haired boy tried his best not to stare in her direction, his cheeks a little pink as he took a seat a few chairs down from her. He noticed quickly that there were no menus on the table. 'Huh? I thought he said the restaurant was open.' Lincoln wondered in his head as he glanced up and down the table to see if he could find one. There were no menus, but he did see that the lizard nurse had a fluffy plate of eggs in front of her. Judging by the specks of green and red, that must have been the special. However, he also noticed she was looking right at him with a judging look, a bit of a smile on her lips and her tongue flicking out a little like a snake. "Uh...hello."

"Hello yourself." She responded sweetly...perhaps a little too sweetly. "I don't remember seeing you around here. New arrival?"

"Er...yeah. Just arrived...uh...last night, I think? What time is it even?" He looked down at his watch, only to find it was broken. "...of course." He said with a sigh.

"In that weather? Goodness, I hope you didn't catch cold…" She said, though her tone suggested otherwise. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"L...Lincoln." He answered nervously.

"I'm Catherine. A pleasure to meet you." The lizard nurse replied, turning slightly as she prepared to talk to him further. An event the young man really wanted no part of, but he didn't want to be rude by ignoring her either.

"So...you're a nurse, huh?" The white haired boy inquired awkwardly, trying not to look directly at her. He wasn't sure what it was, but something about her scared him more than Gregory, despite how friendly she was being.

"Why yes, I am. How clever you are to notice." Lincoln wasn't really sure if that was sarcasm or if she really meant it. "I am the resident nurse of Gregory House, so if you feel unwell, come by and see me~"

'Note to self: do NOT get sick here.' He thought to himself. It was just then a plate of eggs was placed in front of the young man, much to his surprise. He hadn't even ordered yet. But what surprised him more was the sight of the chef. Lincoln couldn't see his face, but he could see his searing red eyes leering at him. He looked like a chef in every way, except for the lit candle on top of his hat. On his back was a knife that was longer than he was tall. "Uh...thank you." The one son replied to the chef, who said nothing in return. The young man gulped and looked down at the eggs. They actually looked very appetizing: fluffy and steaming, chock full of the veggies and meat. It was making his mouth water. Just like his father's cooking. The moment that thought crossed his mind, a mental image of his father flashed in his mind. '..just like...yeah, my father's a chef.' He thought to himself. 'I remember...kinda.' He shook off the memory for now, figuring he could give it more thought after breakfast. He picked up his spoon and was about to eat a big mouthful when he noticed the chef was watching him intently. The way his glowing red eyes seemed to stare into his soul...it really scared the human boy.

"Something...wrong?" The frightening cook asked, in a deep, borderline threatening voice.

"N...No...you just...make me nervous, staring like that…" Lincoln admitted, his eyes on the large knife the chef was carrying. His searing eyes narrowed, but opened back up when a familiar old voice spoke up from right behind him.

"Come now, chef. Let Mr Loud enjoy his breakfast." Gregory scolded the intimidating head chef. Lincoln jumped in shock, dropping his spoon onto his plate. The chef, on the other hand, simply glared at the hotel owner for a moment before returning to his kitchen. "I'm sorry about that, my friend. Chef just wanted to make sure you liked his food, but he can be...rather intense about it."

"Yeah...I got that impression." Lincoln replied as his heart rate returned to normal. 'Do you have to scare me like that!?' He thought to himself. 'Geez...I thought Lucy was the master of that…wait...there's that name-' His train of thought was derailed as saw a brief glimpse of the raven haired vampire enthusiast in his mind's eye. He DID know a Lucy. He wasn't sure how yet, but he knew her. But all these thoughts were interrupting his meal. He grabbed hold of his spoon and quickly shoved the eggs into his mouth. They had cooled a little, but they were very good. "Mmmm. These are good." He said before he really started tucking into his food.

"Chef will be thrilled to hear that."

"Seasoned great, I can taste the fresh onions,and the meat is delicious, though I'm not sure what it is." The white haired boy examined the plate a little closer just as the chef returned. "It's not bacon or sausage...ham? No...What is it?" He asked, looking up and flinching at the sight of the scary chef.

"Heart." He responded flatly.

"...as in beef heart?"

"No." Lincoln's pupils shrank as he stared down at his plate. The very idea he had just possibly eaten bits of a heart made Lincoln go pale, then faint right out of his seat.

"Oh dear...I guess his heart couldn't take it...he he he he." Gregory commented with a snicker as Catherine sauntered over to check on the young man and the chef drew his knife. He was about to walk over to the out cold boy, but the old rat intercepted him. "You know the rules, Chef. Momma gets first dibs on his soul...you can have him when she's done." The knife wielding cook growled, but put his knife away before plodding back toward the food preparation area.


	4. Chapter 4: Medic!

_AN: Changed the rating of the story to M just to be safe._

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Medic!

"**I guess I must have passed out when I heard what was in my breakfast. When I woke up, I found myself in the last place I wanted to be…"**

The white haired boy stirred awake after nearly an hour of unconsciousness, staring up at the ceiling of what he thought was his room (as all the ceilings looked alike). He suspected someone must have brought him back to his room. When his vision cleared, he quickly realized he was NOT in his room. He sat up quickly, noticing he was in what looked like a hospital room. He was laying on a spotless hospital gurney, with a vaguely transparent privacy screen beside his bed. He could just see a desk on the other side of the screen, with a metal tray of metal tools. The one son gulped, thinking he should get out of there. He was alone in the room, so this was his chance. He threw off the sheets, still in the same clothes he had been in when he fainted and went to vault out of bed. However, when his shoe hit the ground, he heard a soft splashing sound. He looked down at the floor and once more went very pale. He was stepping in a small pool of blood. He screamed softly and stumbled back against the wall past the privacy screen. It was then that the door opened and Catherine stepped into the room. "Oh good. You're up and about." She said with a cheery sort of smile.

"Er...yeah...I was just...leaving." Lincoln stuttered as he tries to shake the blood from his shoe.

"Leaving? Oh no, not yet." The nurse said with a smirk, closing the door behind her. "After that fainting spell, I need to make sure your health is alright. It's my duty as a nurse to give you a check up, just to be certain." The middle Loud gulped, shaking a bit in his shoes. However, he couldn't argue with her (as she was a nurse as near as he could tell) and figured he should just get it over with. The sooner this check up was over, the sooner he could vacate, so he consented. The pink reptile smiled even more as she gathered her tools and sat the young man down on an examination table. It started out pretty normal: checking his eyes and ears and throat, his pulse, listened to his heart, and checked his reflexes. The young man was calming down as she finished making a few notes on a clipboard. "Hmmm. Everything seems in order, Mr Loud." She commented, which gave the young man pause for thought.

'Wait...I never told her my last name.' He thought to himself. '...Gregory probably told her before I was brought here.'

"Just one more thing...a blood test~" Catherine said in a sing song voice, stepped away from him. Hearing this gave Lincoln a twinge, but he thought it shouldn't be so bad. After all, it was just a small blood sample. How bad could it be? He looked over to where the lizard nurse and his heart nearly stopped. Over on the wall were a series of giant sized syringes, almost as long as jousting lances, and Catherine was headed right for them. "This is my favorite part of the job." She admitted as she took the biggest of the needles off the wall and nuzzled the glass tube with her cheek. "Mmmmm...something drawing blood...seeing that crimson fluid fill my syringes...Ooooo, it's just exquisite." She said, sounding like she was going to enjoy this WAAAAAY too much. The white haired boy's heart was racing as she sashayed over to him with an evil grin on her face. He scambered back on the table until his back hit the wall. "Oh...just a little warning...this needle is a little dull. This may hurt a lot...when I dig it into your rich, juice veins~" She warned him in a flirty sort of voice that made the young man feel sick, aiming the syringe at him. He closed his eyes and swung his body to one side just as she thrusted at him. When he opened his eyes, he saw he had just BARELY avoided getting impaled, the needle stuck in the wall about where his chest would have been. "Oooh. I got a fighter here...I like a fighter~" She said with an even bigger grin, sounding even more aggressive. Adrenaline was coursing through Lincoln's body as he desperately tried to think of a method of escape while she pulled the needle from the wall.

"...Look! It's Mick Swagger!" He screamed while pointing behind her, as he was the first celebrity to come to his mind. Catherine's eyes widened as she turned around.

"Where!?" She exclaimed excitedly, the one son bolting for the door when she look. Her expression changed to a mildly annoyed one as she sighed. "...well, a woman can dream, can't she?" She said to herself as she headed out the door, looking up and down the halls. She saw Lincoln skidding around the corner, headed back toward his room. "Mmmm. Cat and mouse, is it? I LOVE cat and mouse~" She cooed, beginning to slowly pursue the scared out of his wits boy. "Ready or not...here I come~"

Lincoln was running for his life down the halls, not planning to stop for anything. Thankfully, he didn't run into anyone or anything in the process, as he was dashing much too fast to stop himself. He managed to dive into his room and quickly shut the door and locked it up tight. He was breathing heavily as he pressed his back against the door, listening carefully. After a minute or two, he heard the psychotic nurse trotting down the hall, causing him to hold his breath for fear she would hear him breathing.

"Liiincoln~Where are yooooou?~" She called out from out in the hall, until she was just outside his door. There was a moment of silence before she said, "Hmmmm. Maybe he's hiding in the library. He seems the bookish type~" She commented before she started to walk off again, her footsteps growing quieter and quieter. When the sound faded altogether, Lincoln sighed with relief and stepped away from the door. He then felt an intense stabbing pain back in his backside. He looked back and saw the needle of the syringe had stabbed right through the door and was now stuck into his right flank.

"Gotcha~" Catherine said in delighted triumph on the other side of the door as she started to draw blood from him, grinning broadly and moaning softy at first. Lincoln felt himself grow woozy within the first few seconds. She may have been drawing slowly, but the size of the needle was taking a LOT of blood. And the more blood she took, the more she was enjoying it. He needed to do something quick. With what little strength he had left, he grabbed the metal tube and pushed with all of his might. It took some doing and he nearly passed out, but he managed to get himself off the syringe. flopping to the hardwood floor below, pale as a sheet. When Catherine realized she wasn't getting any more blood, she peeked into the hole to see what was going on. "Oh piffle. I wasn't finished...Oh well. Next time~" She said, licking her lips as she sauntered off to her room, leaving the barely conscious boy laying on his room floor.


	5. Chapter 5: Damned if you do

Damned if you do

"**How I survived that, I'll never know...But I didn't leave my room for the rest of what I assume to be the day. How long had passed? Does time even pass here?"**

It took a long, long time, but Lincoln eventually recovered from his encounter with Catherine, mostly spent with the one son laying on his bed, scarcely able to move. He had a few snacks in his suitcase, so he had something to eat to help with the recovery process. While he was mostly immobile, he decided this was the time to consider those flashes of memory he had earlier, and see what else he could remember. 'Let's see…' He thought to himself. 'I remember my father is a chef...and I know I am upset with him for some reason. And Lucy...I know her...not sure how I know her, but I know her name and face.' He looked up at the ceiling pensively. '...still can't remember my family that much...nor where I came from. Maybe I should try a different tactic. I must have had friends where I came from, right?' He mentally asked himself, to which he nodded in reply. 'Ok, Lincoln. Do you remember them?' The white haired boy took a moment's thought, as he saw an african american boy with fluffy black hair and glasses appear in his mind. 'Yes...yes, I remember him. Clyde McBride, my best friend.' He thought with a big smile. The image of a small orange haired boy with a sort bowl cut passed by his vision next. '...and Liam.' Next up was a taller boy with puffy orange hair, buck teeth and acne, followed by another smaller boy with red hair, buck teeth and large glases. 'And there's Rusty and Zach.' Finally, he saw a latin american girl with long black hair done in a ponytail and a smile of confidence. '...and Ronnie Anne. I remember her too. I remember all of them.'

The fact he could remember his friends was a breath of fresh air to the young man. However, it did bring a new question to his mind: why is it he can remember his friends clearly, but not his family? It kind of disturbed him the more he thought about it. As he got enough strength back to move, he decided he should take a little walk. He peeked out into the hall, looking up and down the corridor. No sign of Gregory or that crazy nurse. It should be safe to go. His movement was unsteady at first, but soon enough, he was as close to back to normal as he could. He was about to head back to his room when he heard something. It sounded like a roller coaster rolling along a track, along with a chant of "Do you know who I am? They call me Judgement Boy." Lincoln turned around just as a block headed creature with sharp yellow teeth hanging on a hook came drifting along toward him. His body was shaped like a pyramid, with ten tons worth of weights under him and arms stretched out with cages hanging off the ends like a set of scales. In one cage was a golden dollar sign, in the other a glowing pink heart. The creature, whom Lincoln assumed was called Judgement Boy by his chanting, looked down at him and grinned.

"You are walking along the hall when you spot a dollar on the ground." Judgement Boy said in an interrogatory manner. "You need another dollar in order to afford to take your girlfriend out for ice cream. As soon as you pick the dollar up, your little sister runs up, telling you that you found HER dollar. She asks for it back very nicely. Do you return the dollar, or do you keep it?" Lincoln just stared up at the living scale person as it stared back at him, quietly and patiently. It took the young man a moment to realize he was actually waiting for an answer.

"I...I would give her dollar back, of course."

"So you say. Why don't we ask the Balance of Truth?" He responded with the same unnerving smile. "Judgement!" He screamed as he suddenly started spinning around madly, forcing Lincoln to jump back to avoid getting clocked by swinging cages. "...NOW!" Judgement Boy suddenly stopped spinning, the cage holding the golden dollar sign falling to the ground and shattering. "...you return the dollar to your little sister. As soon as it leaves your hands, she admits that the dollar wasn't hers...but it is now. She runs away before you can stop her. As a result, you have to do without any ice cream, so you could still go on the date with your girlfriend." He explained calmly to the surprised human boy. "It was YOUR choice. You have to live with it." Lincoln just stood there, kind of stunned as Judgement Boy started on his way again. Before he could get out of sight, however…

"Wait!" The white haired boy called out, causing him to stop in place at the corner. "...what if I had chosen to keep the dollar?" Judgement Boy slowly turned partially to put one eye on the young man.

"Hmmmm. It's not usually my place to judge decisions that aren't made…" He said, before turning all the way around to face him. "...but just once...why not?" The judge of choices went quiet for a moment, as if he were thinking, before he continued. "You keep the dollar, claiming you found it, so it was yours. Your sister cries to your parents, claiming you stole her dollar. You try to defend yourself, but to no avail. You are forced to return the dollar to her, and end up grounded. You can't go on your date anymore. When you call your girlfriend to tell her what happened, she sides with your little sister as well. Everyone is upset with you...and to top it off, it wasn't even really your sister's dollar to begin with." Lincoln's mouth hung open as he heard this, positively thunderstruck. "Sad, isn't it? But that wasn't your decision, so you don't have to live with that." He said with finality before spinning sharply around and strolling off on his way, chanting "Do you know who I am. They call me Judgement Boy."

"My my, my friend." Gregory said while clucking his tongue. The one son was so stunned he didn't even react to the old rat suddenly being beside him. "...how does it go? Damned if you do, damned if you don't? Certainly a sorry situation to have been in..." He said in a voice that was supposed to be sympathetic. However, Lincoln wasn't really paying him any attention. Hearing Judgement Boy's description of the scenario requiring a decision sparked a memory in him.

* * *

Lincoln Loud was strolling down the hallway of the house, deep in thought. He was going to be meeting Ronnie Anne to get ice cream in a little bit, but he was a little short. He couldn't ask any of his sisters for money; they either never had any, wouldn't give any, or were rather ruthless about loans. He couldn't really blame them, though. Money wasn't easy to come by if you didn't have a job. He pondered doing a little couch diving for change when he stepped upon a bit of good luck: a dollar bill right there on the floor. He smiled and picked it up, thinking it was his lucky day. Just then, a little blonde haired girl in a glittery pink gown with a bright pink sash and a little tiara on her head came running up to her. His little sister, Lola. The moment he saw he, he remembered her name. "Oh! Lincoln! You found my dollar! Thank goodness. I was looking EVERYWHERE for it!" She said, a look of relief on her face.

"Your dollar?"

"Yeah. I lost it earlier, and it's EVER so important that I found it! Am I lucky you found it, loving big brother of mine!" She continued, laying it on rather thick as she fluttered her eyelashes at him. The way she was speaking to him made the eleven year old boy rather suspicious, but by the same token, he couldn't really contest the fact that it could be her dollar. After all, money falling out of pockets wasn't all that unusual around here. He pondered the situation for a moment before he sighed and handed the bill to her. "Thank you, Linky!" Lola chirped, leaping into Lincoln's arms to give him a big kiss on the cheek before running off. Lincoln blushed and smiled lightly, thinking he did a good thing...until he heard. "Lana! I found a dollar! Plan A is back on!"

"Found? Hey!" He yelled, realizing he had just been robbed.

* * *

"...that did happen." Lincoln said quietly. Then another realization came to mind, which caused him to blush deeply and frown as he glared in the direction Judgement Boy had gone. "Hey! She's not my girlfriend!" He shouted.

"...you ever get the feeling you're missing something?" Gregory asked as he looked toward the fourth wall. It was then the one son took notice of the elderly hotel owner.

"...when did you get here?" The young man asked in confusion.

"Not long ago. I had heard about what happened with Catherine…" Lincoln cringed, rubbing his rump where the needle had jabbed him. "I've had words with her as well. She'll behave herself the next time you meet."

"I don't plan to meet her again unless I'm dead…" The man with the plan grumbled. The elderly rodent heard him and chuckled a cruel, creepy chuckle.

"At any rate, perhaps you should return to your room and rest a while." He continues, patting the young man on the shoulder. "And when you feel up to it, we can talk about your offer of help." He didn't wait around for Lincoln's answer, instead walking off the the opposite corridor Judgement Boy had gone down. The white haired boy had no intention of going to his room, though. If Gregory wanted him there, he felt he should probably be elsewhere, so off he went to find someplace else to rest to full strength.


	6. Chapter 6: No good deed

No good deed

**"Hindsight...it's a pain in the neck. I should have listened to the cat...but I just can't help it. It's in my nature to help."**

Lincoln wasn't quite sure where he was in the hotel. At this point, each dimly lit hallway looked the same as the next. The only difference was that a few of the doors had some significant differences to them. One was completely crowded by clocks and other time pieces, a larger door with the image of a bathtub on it, and one door made of solid gold. One that caught the young man's attention was one labelled Mama. "Mama?" Lincoln said quietly as he passed the closed entry. "Gregory let's his mother live here? Well, that is nice of him." He commented, continuing his walk around the hotel. "Maybe I misjudged him…" He was just passing by large locked door without a sign on the outside when he heard soft sobbing in the shadows further ahead. He froze in place, his eyes narrowed as he tried to see into the darkness, his ears listening intently. The sound of crying was getting closer, a little red haired girl in a patched up green dress, looking like she had just lost her best friend. Seeing her in this state hit the young man right in the heart, making him feel very sorry for her.

"My dolly...I lost my dolly…" She sobbed as she walked along with a hung head. It was like she didn't even know Lincoln was there. He couldn't stand to see her so sad. He had to do something.

"Excuse me…" He said gently, getting the young girl's attention. "Are you alright, miss?" He asked her, kneeling down in front of her.

"I...I lost my dolly…" She told him in a sad voice that really got his sympathy.

"There there...here, dry your eyes with this." He said, pulling a hanky from his pocket. As he was handing it to her, he noticed there was the initials L.L. embroidered on the lower corner. Probably for his own name, he thought as he dried her eyes of tears. However, the way it was stitched...it looked familiar. Who did he know who could do something like this? The answer came in the form of a mental picture of a smiling teenage girl with long blonde hair. 'Wait...I know her...she made me this handkerchief...what was her name? L...Leni! That's it!' He thought to himself as he put the cloth back in his pocket. He wanted to put more thought into this Leni, but he had something more important to do right now. "Now then...you said you lost your doll? Perhaps I can help you find it?"

"R...really? You'll help me find her?" The white haired boy nodded in reply, with a reassuring smile. "Thank you, mister…"

"Happy to help, miss." Lincoln said, standing up, gently taking hold of her hand and walking down the hall, back where he had come from. "Can you describe your dolly, so I'll know if I see her?"

"Her name is Katie...she's really little...has red hair...and a little green dress…" The middle Loud looked down at the sad child.

'It sounds like she's describing herself...it must be a doll made to look like her. It must be precious to her if losing it has her this sad.' He thought.

"She has a blue face, and bright yellows eyes." She continued, the one son not noticing that she had just turned her head around 180 degrees. "...in fact, she looks a lot...like…" Lincoln looked down at her as she got quieter. Then, she suddenly looked up at him, with a blue face, piercing yellow eyes, and sharp teeth in her sinister grin. "...ME!" She screeched, causing Lincoln to scream, release her hand and fall to the ground, scampering back from her as she lifted into the air, laughing maniacally. "WANNA KISS THE DOLLY!?" She screamed as she flew right into his face, still cackling.

"Get away!" Lincoln cried, trying to crawl away from her. However, she was able to float ahead of him far quicker than he could move. After blocking his attempted escape a few times, she pounced on him, knocking him onto his back and wrapping her little fingers around his neck. He started to choke as he tried to pry her hands off him, but she was MUCH stronger than she looked.

"He...Help!" He tried to call out, but between her hands around his throat as her shrill laughter, his pleas were cut off.

"No one can hear you!" She loudly informed him. "And no one will help you! You're all alone here! You have no one! No friends! And especially no family!" She shrieked as she continued to strangle him. Her last comment really struck a nerve with the white haired boy, but as his vision was starting to dim, there was nothing he could do about it. He thought this was it: this was how he was going to die. Strangled by a psychotic doll. Before he could lose consciousness, however, the sound of metal cutting through the air and sharp snips filled his ears. Then, the doll's grip loosened as some near invisible strings went limp, and she fell forward onto Lincoln's chest, motionless. The one son gasped for breath, taking a moment to regain his sense a little before he shoved the lifeless toy off him with a frightened gasp. She struck the wall opposite him with her back turned, revealing she had another face on her head: the face of the crying girl. Standing beside her, holding a large pair of scissors, was Neko Zombie (though Lincoln didn't know this was his name). The stitched up cat just leered at the two faced child before looking silently at the white haired boy. Without so much as a word, he dropped the scissors and started to leave.

"...thank you." Lincoln said in a raspy voice, holding his neck.

"...you want to thank me? Get out." Was all the feline said before he walked away into the shadows of Gregory House.


	7. Chapter 7: It's time to duel!

It's time to duel!

"**When it comes to conflict, I prefer to avoid physical confrontation. I usually let my words or my mind fight for me. But what will happen when getting physical is inevitable?"**

After his experience with Lost Doll, Lincoln desperately wanted to get away from everyone to recover. As much as he didn't want to hide in the one place everyone knew he would be, his room at least had a lock. It would be...somewhat safe. Perhaps he could use some furniture to block the door. That could work, he thought to himself. He just needed to get back to his room. He didn't even get a third of the way there when he was stopped by the sound of a gunshot, and a bullet hole appearing right in front of his foot. This terrified the young man almost as much as Catherine. He slowly turned his head, seeing a humanoid cactus in a bandit's outfit, a bandolier of bullets across his chest, and a sombrero on his head. He had a big black mustache and had a six shooter pointed at him. "So...you thought I would forget about you, eh muchacho?" He asked with a soft laugh. "I don't forget offenses like that so easy…"

"Uh...I'm sorry, but...who are you?" Lincoln asked, scared out of his mind as he slowly raised his hands.

"Don't play dumb. You know who I am and you know what you did!"

"N...No, I don't!"

"Enough games!" The gun toting cactus snapped, stamping his foot. "Now, we settle this like men! A duel!" He declared, punching the air with his unarmed hand.

"A...A duel? But dueling is illegal…" The white haired boy said.

"Illegal!? Ha! Since when!?" The prickly gunman asked snidely. "Sounds to me like you're trying to weasel out of it. Well, it won't work. Get ready to draw…"

"B...But I don't have a gun." Lincoln informed him, slowly turning so he could see him from all angles. "See? I'm unarmed."

"In that case...take one of mine." He replied, throwing his spare revolved to the child before him, the weapon landing in his hands. "Can't duel without both duelists being armed. It's just not honorable." The poor boy gulped as he looking between the gun and the cactus man glaring at him. "We draw the moment it hits noon…"

"Noon? But...my watch isn't working…" Lincoln said lamely, as if that could have saved him.

"That's fine. The clock tower is." Just then, the middle Loud felt the heat of the sun on his head and a cloud of dust fly past his face. After a moment of choking, he looked around and saw he and the cactus gunman were now in an old west town, right on the main street. "We draw as soon as it strikes twelve. You have sixty seconds, hombre...make them count…" He warned the young man, lowering his head so that his hat covered most of his eyes, making his expression harder than before. Lincoln was sweating bullets right now. Another fine mess he had gotten into, and this one seemed to have even fewer ways out. He had only a matter of seconds before he would be forced into a gunfight to the death...when he never even fired a real gun before.

'Think fast, Lincoln…' he told himself mentally. 'You have a crazy cactus who seems to believe you wronged him in some way. He seems to know you from somewhere, but you've never seen him before...and now he's challenging you to a showdown.' Just as this thought crossed his mind, the bell started to ring. One, two three… 'You've never shot at anyone before...while he's probably a seasoned professional.' ...four, five, six… 'He probably would have ended you already if he weren't so concerned about a fair fight…' ...seven, eight, nine… '...wait. That's it!' A light bulb went off in is mind just as the bell rang ten, then eleven. Just when Cactus Gunman went to draw at exactly twelve, Lincoln held his own gun to the side and dropped it, the weapon hitting the ground at precisely the twelfth gong. His prickly opponent still drew his gun, but he looked very confused.

"...what are you doing?"

"Refusing to fight you." Lincoln replied simply, crossing his arms in front of himself. This was a major gamble and he knew it. However, he felt his odds of survival may have been better if he didn't fight.

"Refuse…? You can't do that! Pick up your gun and draw!"

"No." The young man said firmly.

"Well...why not!?"

"I have no reason to fight you. I don't know you. I've never done anything to you."

"Don't you lie to me…"

"I'm not. Seriously, what did I supposedly do!?"

"Hmph. Like you don't know...but if it will get you to man up and fight...it was because of you the first revolution of Cactusland had failed…twenty years ago..." The gunman explained angrily.

"...ok, number one: do I LOOK like I come from Cactusland?" Lincoln asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"...well, not per-"

"Number two: how could an ELEVEN year old have any involvement in something that happened TWENTY years ago!?"

"Eleven…? Well, it must have been a past life then…"

"In that case, why should I have to be punished for something that wasn't even my fault!?" Lincoln shouted, his anger building. For some reason, this made his blood boil. A series of scenes flashed before his eyes, but they went by far too fast for him to make anything out. Not that he would be able to make sense of them in this situation anyway. The Cactus Gunman lowered his weapon for a moment as he thought about it, but then quickly raised it again.

"Aha! I see what you're doing. Trying to trick and confuse me...a good try, amigo, but not good enough. Now pick up your gun and draw...or else I will just have to shoot you as is." He cocked the hammer of his revolver back. So much for that idea, Lincoln said. However he did have one other idea. He slowly turned his back to the gunman and started to walk away. "Hey! Where are you going!?"

"Back to my room."

"Don't you go! I'll shoot!" He threatened, aiming the weapon right at Lincoln's back. This made the one son pause for a moment, but only to say.

"...no, you won't." Lincoln told him flatly. "If you really wanted to do that, you could have done it earlier. I wouldn't have even seen it coming...but you took the time to challenge me properly. You said it yourself it's not honorable to shoot an unarmed opponent. That's why you tried to give me that gun in the first place. Would a man of honor like yourself really shoot an innocent kid in the back?" The cactus man started to sweat a bit. "...because if that supposed grudge you have against me is so important to you...that's exactly what you'll have to do." The white haired boy had no idea why he just said that, but he felt he had crossed the line and he was about to pay for it. He closed his eyes, bracing himself to be shot. What he didn't know/see was, though Cactus Gunman was still pointing the barrel of his six shooter at him, he wasn't shooting. His hand had become shaky, sweat pouring down his green rind like skin. His finger tensed on the trigger. He narrowed his eyes as if taking careful aim...then closed his eyes while lowering the barrel of his weapon.

"Sigh...you are right, hombre…" The desert dweller admitted in a defeated tone. "...I can't just shoot someone in the back like that...not even a rattlesnake like you…" Lincoln breathed a sigh of relief. "...you get out of here." He continued, waving his gun in the young man's direction. "...but don't let me catch you around here again, or I'll-"

"Oh, there you are, my friend…" Gregory said as he came walking up the dirt road toward the two of them. At that point, Cactus Gunman's weapon accidentally went off. Lincoln jumped and hastily looked himself over. He saw no bullet holes. He felt no pain. Did he really escape unharmed? He looked back up and saw the elderly rat just standing there with a surprised look on his face and a hole right in the middle of his forehead. "...ouch." Was all he said before he fell flat on his face.

"Oops…" The gun toting plant man said before he made himself scarce. "Adios!" At that moment, they were all back a hallway in Gregory House. The one son ran over to the hotel owner to make sure he was alright. To his amazement, the bullet hole was gone when he turned Gregory around.

"Are you alright?"

"...I was just shot in the head...what makes you think-!?" The old rodent started to rant furiously, but he managed to stop himself and take a few deep breaths as Lincoln pulled him to his feet. "My apologies, Mr Loud...it was just an upsetting situation. I didn't mean to lash out."

"Don't worry about it, Gregory. Would happen to anyone...well, anyone who could survive a shot to the head."

"Indeed...and on that note, which way did that pistol packing prick go?" Lincoln was tempted to direct Gregory to where the Cactus Gunman went, but had a change of heart just as he was about to do it.

"He went that way." He lied, pointing down an entirely different corridor.

"Thank you. If you'll excuse me…" The aged mouse said as he pulled a baseball bat from under his coat. "Get back here, you lunatic!" He shouted as he ran after what he thought was his assailant. "I'm gonna rip out all your spines and use them to play darts on your ass!"


	8. Chapter 8: Playtime

Playtime

**"This place is starting to take a toll on me. On my body and my mind. What I wouldn't give for respite from all the craziness I've seen...even for a brief while."**

With the duel behind him, Lincoln made a beeline for his room. All he wanted to do was lock and barricade his door, and collect his thoughts; particularly this recent rush of memories. He started to pick them apart, slowly, as he moved. In one, he was being scolded by a blond haired woman...his mother. He was sure of that. She was blaming him for getting banned from the local supermarket. Then, a larger image: his father looking disapprovingly at him, with a mostly blurred crowd beside him. He recognized Lola, Leni, and Lana in the group, but everyone else...the memory was too faded. He had done something…something that made everyone upset with him. Yet it wasn't his fault...was it? There was one other memory he tried to mentally bring up again: he got a brief glimpse of his family again. Mostly blurred again, but he could see his parents, Leni, the twins and Lucy. They looked...afraid of something? However, before he could really ponder this, his head started to hurt. A lot. He winced in pain, which faded as soon as he stopped thinking. 'Ugh...if I didn't think I would have to go see Catherine again, I would go look for aspirin…' He thought to himself as he rubbed his head. All the more reason to return to his room in his mind. He decided to put a stop to all brain activity until he got to his room, going on autopilot, pretty much. This meant he almost ended up bumping into a child running around in the hall. "Oh...sorry." Lincoln said, having stopped just short of running into a dog boy about a head smaller than him, his head wrapped in bandages, with a hatchet in his head. The one son cringed a bit at first, but then thought he looked somewhat familiar.

"It's ok, mister." The child replied, looking and sounding in high spirit, ax notwithstanding. "Are you alright? You look kinda worn out."

"I'm fine, thanks...just something of a headache."

"Oh. I know what that's like. I get headaches all the time." He responded, patting his own head.

'I can imagine.' The white haired boy thought. "So, what's your name?"

"I'm Dog Mummy." The bandaged up boy told him.

"I'm Lincoln. Pleased to meet you."

"Hey! You wanna play?" Dog Mummy inquired eagerly, a hopeful smile on his face. Lincoln was a little hesitant; this place has made him very wary of anything even remotely innocent. However, something about this pup reminded him of his younger siblings...at least the ones he could remember. Maybe this won't be so bad?

"Well...alright, for a little bit." He answered.

"Yay!" The dog boy cheered before running off. "Follow me!" This made the young man a little uneasy, but he followed Dog Mummy through the halls until they reach a large, old wooden door with a brass door knob. He opened the door and sprinted out of it. Lincoln peeked out the door and noticed it was some kind of garden or courtyard. It was kind of gloomy outside, with swirling gray clouds overhead and a fog hanging off the ground. The yard had one large tree and a couple raised bed gardens and bushes. The middle Loud could recognize the green onions growing in half of one of them, but none of the other plants. While not necessarily ideal, it was probably more pleasant than the rest of the house he had seen. "You're it!" He cried before running away while laughing. Lincoln smirked a bit as he shut the door behind him and he went off the bandaged up pup.

"We'll see about that." He replied. For the next couple minutes, he and Dog Mummy played tag out in the courtyard, both having a great time. Though Lincoln was a little bigger than him, the dog boy was pretty quick, and fond of ducking through bushes and climbing up the tree. The one son wasn't slowed down by the shrubbery, but the tree...that was another story. However, he was the man with the plan, so he simply pretended to go after him, then waited for him to come down. Dog Mummy jumped down from the branches...and right into Lincoln's arms.

"You're it." He informed the pup with the ax in his head, setting him down before running off. He didn't mind at all. He just laughed as he chased after the white haired boy. As they played, Lincoln started to see a few flashes of memory. Lana dressed as a knight protecting Princess Lola's castle from the 'vicious troll'. A brown haired teen in a purple t shirt and skirt playing guitar while he played the drums. Another brunette teen with a white shirt, yellow skirt and braces telling him jokes. A tall girl with blonde hair in a blue tank top and brown shorts playing video games with him. He didn't think too much on these, as he was too busy having fun with his new little friend, but he would ponder these moments more sometime later. The game lasted about an hour longer, though it probably could have gone on longer. However, they were both getting tired and needed a break. "Whew...I forgot how exhausting this game could be…" The middle Loud said as he leaned back against the one large tree for a rest. "Are you holding up alright, Dog Mummy?" He asked, looking over to the child. He was holding his head and groaning a bit.

"I...I don't feel so good…" He said, reeling a little before collapsing.

"Dog Mummy!?" Lincoln cried out, leaping from his resting spot and running over to him.

"I've got a terrible headache…" The poor pup whined.

"Here...I'll bring you back to your father…" Lincoln said as he picked the bandage wrapped child up. "Which room are you in?"

"Upstairs...the tenth room, I think…"

"Ok...hang in there…" Lincoln said as he bolted for the door, rushing back inside and dashing through the halls. He might have passed some other guests in the halls, may have even bumped into them, but his focus was set exclusively on getting Dog Mummy to his father. Everything else was secondary. '206…' Lincoln thought after he scaled the stairs in nothing flat. '207….208….209...ah! 210!' He slid to a stop in front of the door and frantically knocked on it.

"Hold on a sec. I'm coming." Mummy Poppa said as he plodded his way over to answer the door. "Hello?"

"Sir...your son…" Lincoln said, breathing heavily as he held Dog Mummy out to the overweight canine.

"Hmmm? What's the matter?" He asked, gently taking the pained puppy from Lincoln.

"My head hurts, Daddy…"

"Oh, I see." He said with a chuckle. "Let's get you to bed and I'll get your medicine." Mummy Poppa said, taking his son into the room and tucking him into bed.

"Is he going to be alright…?" The one son asked.

"He'll be fine. He gets these headaches and feels woozy occasionally. Probably gets it from me." He explained. "Speaking of, I feel a headache coming on myself. Maybe I'll take some cold medicine myself."

"I...see…" He said, glancing up at the sword planted in his skull.

"So, did you have fun today, son?" The mummy dog father asked as he dug through their wardrobe.

"Yes, Daddy. Lincoln played tag with me."

"Is that so?" He paused in the act of getting medicine. "Well, you have my gratitude, Lincoln." He said, looking to the white haired boy with a smile. "There aren't many children his age around here."

"Now that you mention it...I don't think I've seen any children around here...apart from that girl looking for her doll…" The one son commented, shivering as he remembered the encounter.

"Well, apart from her, there is James, but…" He leaned in closer to Lincoln to whisper. "He's somewhat of a bad influence…" He then continued in a normal voice. "...there's a little cactus girl, but we don't really see her much at all...and then there's My Son, but he spends so much time working with Clock Master, he ironically doesn't have much time to play…"

"Wait...your son?" The middle Loud asked in confusion.

"No. My Son."

"That's what I said."

"No, you said your son. I said My Son works so much, he doesn't have time to play."

"...so I guess he was on break when I met him?" The human boy asked, scratching his head as he tried to make sense of this.

"Oh. You met My Son?"

"Uh...yes. It was how I was able to play with him and bring him home."

"I beg your pardon?" Mummy Poppa inquired with a raised eyebrow before he chuckled. "Young man, I think you're a little mixed up."

'I'M mixed up!?' Lincoln thought indignantly, but he didn't verbalize it. "Ok...let's start over…" He said, rubbing his forehead a bit. "There is a child that works for a Clock Master, yes?" The canine father nodded. "And this child is not your son?" Another nod. "And the child is…?"

"My Son, yes." Mummy Poppa answered. This made the eleven year old boy face palm, his face turning a bit red from frustration.

'I feel like I'm in the middle of one of Luan's jokes…' He thought angrily. Then, a lightbulb goes off in his head. Two of them in fact. He recognized the name and, more relevant to the situation, he realized what was going on. He slapped his own forehead as he laughed a bit. "Oh! My Son is his name, isn't it?"

"Yes, it….oh, I see where the mix up occurred now." The chunky dog man said, guffawing a little himself. "Yes, My Son is his name, and he's the son of the Clock Master."

"That makes sense...he'd want to follow in his father's footsteps, so he'd work with him a lot."

"Precisely." The dog father confirmed with a nod. "But yeah...there aren't many children his age around, so it's nice to hear he made a friend he can play with, if not quite the same age. Again, you have my gratitude, Lincoln."

"I was more than happy to, sir." Lincoln said, shaking his hand. 'After the day...or days...I dunno...I've been having, I needed to do something fun.'

"I hope we can play again sometime soon…" Dog Mummy said from his bed.

"We'll see what happens." The young man told him. 'Since I don't know how much longer I plan to stay here…' He thought to himself. This seemed to cheer the ailing and tired puppy up.

"Well, I think it's time for my son's nap." Mummy Poppa said, before he finally pulled a bottle from the wardrobe. "And I think I could use a nap myself. Have yourself a good evening, Lincoln."

"Bye Lincoln…" Dog Mummy called weakly.

"Have a good night, you two. Feel better." Lincoln responded. As the mummy father was closing the door, he could have swore he saw a skull and cross bones on the bottle he had in his hand. Thinking he must have been seeing things, he decided to return to his original objective and headed toward his room. 'Well, that was rather surreal…' He thought to himself. 'But it is nice to know there are a few good people here…'


	9. Chapter 9: Piecing Things Together

_AN: Sorry if this chapter is a bit boring compared to the previous ones, but I wanted to have one chapter with him just trying to figure things out without interruption. Next chapter is already done and will be posted a little later today._

_As a quick note, I am working on my other stories as well. Tales from Grimwood, Reluctant Werewolf, Lincoln Juice, Louds and Dragons and League of Exceptional Louds are still being worked on. However, I've hit a bit of a wall with Lincoln Juice and the last chapter of LLATNSRW, but will get them as soon as possible. As for the others, they tend to be me much longer (especially Louds and Dragons), and thus take longer. And for LOEL and Tales From Grimwood, my issue was deciding what to do next. Fortunately, I've gotten past the decision and am working on them, slowly but surely. Do not fear. I will have them out in due time, and I thank you all for your patience._

* * *

Piecing things together

"**Finally, I manage to get back to my room. I really need some rest now...but first, I have a lot to think about…"**

It was a much longer journey than it should have been, Lincoln had finally managed to return to his room. Once inside, he shut and locked the door, then walked his way over to the desk and chair set in the corner of the room. Set on the desk was a little writing book with a pen beside it. He wasn't sure where it came from, nor if it was there from the start. However, he needed something to help him with his thoughts, and writing them down would be a big help. "Alright...let's start with what I currently remember." Lincoln said as he took up the pen. "I remember my friends…" He wrote down the names of his five friends. "And of my family...I remember my parents, though not their names…" He writes down Mom and Dad. "..I remember Lucy, Lola, Lana, Leni and Luan…" He added their names to the list. "And that they are my sisters...geez, how many sisters do I have?" He asked himself, tapping his pen against the desk. "And Luan...her name rings a bell, but…" He paused as he shuffled through the most recent flashbacks he had experienced enroute to his room. The one of the teenage girl telling him jokes. "..that's it! That's her." He exclaimed, writing down a description of her beside her name. It was a start in his mind, but he still had two girls he had faces connected to, but not names. He frowned lightly as he rested his head on his left hand, his elbow against the table.

"Now...what about those other two?" He wondered aloud. He revisited the memory of the guitar playing teen again. Strangely, this memory was silent, unlike the others, but he doubted it was important for him to hear the music. He focused on the girl's face, her hair, her clothes...her name was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't spit it out. "...all my sisters have names that start with L...Linda? No...Lina? No, but I think I'm getting warmer...L...Luna! That's it!" He declared, putting down her name and description. The moment he remembered her name, the music in the memory started to play. It was loud, but it was some great music. "One more that I can think of at the moment…" His mind went to the scene of the blond girl and himself playing video games on the couch. "Let's see...Lupe? No...Lucy...wait, there already was a Lucy. Lane...that's more a boy's name." He sighed as he couldn't bring her name up. The white haired boy decided he would try and see if he had any other memories of her. He almost regretted it, as the next moments of his life he saw were far less positive. The teen screaming at him just for being in her room. Forcing him to double date with her boyfriend and Ronnie Anne...wait, she had a connection to Ronnie Anne? How is he having so much trouble remembering her if he remembered the latina quite clearly? The next image to appear in his head was the girl getting favors from him and all their other sisters in return for rides through town. She even showed off her driver's license.

"Wait! Hold it right there!" He exclaimed, seeing her license clearly in his brain. "...Lori! That's her name...and that probably explains why I feel so upset with her too." He reasoned, writing her name down. "Actually...no, that's not quite right. I mean, those moments were upsetting...but I feel there's another reason I'm angry with her. Another reason I'm angry with all of them." He looked down at the list of seven sisters he could remember, plus his parents and friends. He then started to write the word angry down beside Lori's name, then by both his parents, and finally Lucy and Luan's. Beside Leni, Lola, and Lana's names, he wrote kinda angry. For Luna, very angry. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason, whatever the family did to upset him, he was especially irked at Luna. Like...he expected better from her. Then, for some reason, he wrote his own name at the bottom of the page, followed by very angry. "...whatever happened that got me angry at them...I'm angry at myself for too…" He theorized, tapping his lip with the top of the pen. "The question is why?" Lincoln questioned out loud, rising from his seat and starting to pace back and forth in the small room. He put his mind on the idea that had gotten him so angry during his 'duel' with the Cactus Gunman: getting blamed for something that wasn't his fault.

"That would make anyone angry…" He told himself. His train of thought went back down that path. It passed by the first memory involving his mother, and moved to the second one. The crowd was clearer now, but he still couldn't make out two figures. A small blur of green and brown between Lucy and Leni, and one that was so blurred out, he couldn't even perceive any color. Then he arrived at the final memory: of his family at the front door, looking at him almost fearfully. Once more, he could see all but three of the members of his family. However, the moment the scene started to play, Lincoln's head started to hurt again. "Agh! That's twice that happened…" He groaned, rubbing his head. "...is my brain trying to tell me something?" He asked himself as he sat back down, making a few notes about what he had just considered. "...it's like my own brain doesn't want me to think about it...but I think those things may be the key to figuring this out...at least, with my selective amnesia." With that, he finally put the pen down and closed the book. "...that can wait for tomorrow though...or later...or whatever in this place. I think I've made a little progress, but now I just want to get some sleep…" Before he got himself ready for bed, however, he quickly pushed the little chair by the desk against the doorknob, then pushed the desk in front of the door. "Safety first." He said to himself with a small smile before he changed into his pajamas. "You know...I wonder what my family is doing right now…" He wondered aloud to himself as he made himself comfortable under the blankets. "...and do they even know I'm gone?" was the last thought he had before he drifted off to sleep. A couple minutes after he had zonked out, the wardrobe door opened slightly, a small, shadowed figure leaning out to look at him. Two glowing, white eyes locked upon him, narrowing as it produced some rope from within the standing clothes cabinet.


	10. Chapter 10: Regret on First

_AN: Meant to post this last night, but it slipped my mind. Anyway, this and the next few chapters will show what's happening in Royal Woods while Lincoln is at Gregory House._

* * *

Regret on first

Meanwhile, back in Royal Woods, the Loud Family were all heading to another Squirrels baseball game. Naturally, Lynn Jr was all fired up, raring to get to the game and beat the other team like cake batter. She wasn't the only one either. Lana and Lola were excited to get to the field too...mostly because there was always a soft serve ice cream cart there. And, of course, Lynn Sr always loved to see his children in action, but especially enjoyed watching Junior dominate in sports. "This is going to be quite a game, right, Junior?"

"Right!" She exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. 'Especially with that jinx back at home.' She thought to herself with a somewhat satisfied smile. Her father smiled back before turning toward his wife riding shotgun. His smile faded in an instant. Rita looked far from happy. In fact, she looked positively glum. Why? Because before they left, she had went to check on her only son out in the backyard. Two days ago, they had made the call to kick the young man out of the house, forcing him to sleep outside, because everyone believed he was bad luck. At the time, they believed they did what they thought was right. However, when she put his cereal bowl through the pet flap that morning, she saw him sitting on the steps of the back porch. Seeing him just sitting there, in his pajamas, not even looking back to look at his breakfast...it was like someone stuck a needle right into her heart. It seriously took the wind out of her sails. And once more, she wasn't the only one. Leni looked uncharacteristically down, Lori was quiet and simply staring at her phone without really seeing it, and Lucy was staring out the back window with a somewhat distressed look on her face.

"Something feels VERY wrong…" Lucy commented, sounding a little distant.

"...yeah, I think I know what you mean." Leni agreed, looking out the window. "Did we really do the right thing?"

"What do you mean?" Lynn asked, turning toward her older sisters from the Sweet Spot.

"You know...throwing Lincoln out like that…" The kindly, but ditzy teen elaborated, now getting the attention of all her sisters except for Lucy. "I mean...he's unlucky, yeah...but isn't it a little…?"

"Harsh?" Lori suggested sadly.

"Yeah. Exactly. How did you know what I was thinking, Lori?'

"Number one, reading your mind isn't that hard, Leni." The oldest of the sisters replied before looking back at her phone screen...which was on rest mode at this point. "And number two...I was thinking the same thing."

"Oh come on...you can't be serious." The athletic sister said with a frown. "You can't seriously be sympathizing with Stinkin', can you?"

"No...I just feel really bad about kicking him out of the house." Leni answered. Lynn Jr sighed and shook her head in annoyance. Of course, Leni would. Not only was she dim as a post, but a real bleeding heart.

"Actually...I think I'm kinda picking up what she's beaming…" Luna piped up, her face falling some. "We could have put the little dude in the garage or something...or gave him a tent and sleeping bag...but right outside…"

"And selling all of his stuff too…" Luan spoke now, looking like she had something to get off her chest now. "Is it possible we took this too far, guys?" Lana and Lola looked to one another as the considered what the family joker had said, while Lisa maintained her stoic silence and stone faced expression.

"You have got to be kidding me…" The superstitious sister sighed in frustration as she face palmed.

"Now now, kids...let's not fight on this." Lynn Sr said, sweating a bit as he looked into the rear view mirror at all the girls.

"Lynn...honey...I think they're right." Rita said quietly to her husband.

"Huh?" He asked in reply, trying not to be heard by the kids.

"I think they're right...we've crossed a line…" She continued in a hushed voice.

"Crossed a line?" The Loud father parroted, looking back at the road as he mulled out what she had said. 'Did we really?' He wondered. 'I mean...we did kick our only son out of his room...and out of...the house...and…sold...' He gulped a bit as his train of thought came to an abrupt stop. "...I think I see your point, dear."

"When we get back...we're letting him back into the house."

"What!?" Lynn Jr exclaimed, having learned in for a listen along with the rest of the sisters.

"Seems we need to have another talk about eavesdropping…" Rita said with a sigh before saying out loud. "Lincoln is coming back into the house when we get back home."

"You can't!" The victory addict objected loudly. "He's cursed! He's jinxed! You let him back in, the house will probably come down on all of us! He-"

"-is allowed back into the house." Rita declared firmly. "This isn't up for debate. We'll find some other way around his bad luck." Lynn Jr opened her mouth to try and contest this decision, but one glare from her mother stopped it in her throat. She turned to her father, but one look at him told her she wasn't getting any help from him. Lynn growled as she slumped back in her seat, pouting.

'So much for my good mood…' she thought sourly. 'That little jinx is messing things up without even being here…' she looked over at the rearview mirror angrily, where she saw the reflection of her eyes looking back in disgust. She blinked, shook her head and looked again. It was gone. 'What was that?...eh, probably just nerves…' she told herself, putting herself a little more at ease.

A few minutes later, Vanzilla was parked just outside the Royal Woods Middle School sports field, nine kids pouring out of the van followed by two grown ups and an infant. Lynn was psyching herself up for the game, with Rita started to bring thier children to their seats. However, Lucy broke off from the group and started walking away. "Huh? Hey, where are you going, Luce?" Luna called out, trying to hold the twins back from the ice cream cart.

"Home." She replied in a flat monotone. "I feel something very bad from there...and if I can feel it from here, it must be serious…"

"What!? But what about the game!?" The sports star exclaimed.

"This feels more important." Lucy replied.

"Now hold on, young lady. You can't go walking that kind of distance all by yourself." Her father said in his best authoritative voice.

"I'll take her." Lori offered, raising a hand. "Honestly, after all the talk on the way here, I've gotten really worried about Lincoln too."

"...well, I suppose if one of your older sisters go with you…" Lynn Sr said, not really have an argument for that.

"But...I wanted everyone in the family to see me win this big game!" The most stubborn of the Louds (and THAT was saying something) cried, looking over at her oldest sister and the young goth.

"You do? But Lincoln isn't here." Leni pointed out.

"Leni makes a good point." Lucy said, looking coldly at Lynn Jr. "Does he no longer qualify?"

"What!? I never said...I didn't mean…" She stammered before she snorted in anger. "You don't think that I want my only little brother here to watch me win this important game!?" She screamed, getting strange looks from bystanders and her teammates. "Well, I do, but if he's here, we can't win!"

"At least you have your priorities straight." The vampire enthusiast said sarcastically, turning on her heel and walking away. Lori was stunned so much by the argument that she had to run to catch up with Lucy.

"Yeah, well-!" She was about to yell her reply, but she noticed there were enough people staring at her as it stood, so she swallowed it for the moment. However, as soon as things quieted down, she muttered. "-I didn't see you sticking up for him when we made the decision...hypocrite traitor…" She turned toward the Squirrels' dugout, about to storm her way over when she saw it. A patch of white hair among the crowd, along with an orange shirt. She froze in place, rubbed her eyes and looked again, but it was gone. "...no. It couldn't be. No way he could be here" She told herself. "Come on, Lynn...get your game face on and put Stinkin' out of your mind…"


	11. Chapter 11: Shame on Second and Third

Shame on second and third

Although none of the Louds (with the possible exception of Lily, who didn't really have the full grasp of what was going on) were really in the mood for the game anymore, they had opted to stay and give their support to Lynn. After all, Lori and Lucy were going back to check on Lincoln, make sure he's alright...everything should be fine, right? Well, things certainly weren't fine with Lynn. The sports star couldn't concentrate, sitting on the bench slumped over with a hand over her eyes. She had once more thought she had seen her brother at the game, over in the opposing team's dugout. She knew it as impossible, but still, she could swear she saw him. "Hey...Hey Lynn!" Margo said as she shook the team captain.

"Huh!? Oh...sorry. Was...trying a new technique to sharpen my focus." She lied after she was stirred.

"Well, I'd recommend dropping it. It's not working." Her friend joked with a bit of a smirk. "Come on. We're on the field."

"Right!" Lynn responded with spirit as she grabbed her mitt and ran for the mound. 'OK, Lynn...you may have lost it a little earlier...but here...you're in your element. Your wheelhouse. This is where you belong. Where you thrive. Where you rule.' She thought to herself, a confident smile growing on her face as a baseball was thrown to her. She performed her usual lucky dance ritual, then took a few warm up pitches as the batter was picking his bat.

"You still got it." A voice said from her right,

"Yep." She commented as she finished her warm up, turning to see who had spoken. Her eyes widened in panic when she saw Lincoln standing almost right beside her, leaned over just like she was a moment ago. After a yelp of fright, she hurled the baseball right at him...only he wasn't there anymore and the ball was headed for the third baseman. Fortunately, he was able to catch the spheroid before it hit him.

"Uh...nice play, Lynnsanity, but the first batter hasn't even got to the plate yet." He told her before returning the orb.

"Er...yeah. Was just...making sure you were paying attention. Yeah, that's it." She said with a nervous chuckle before she turned her attention to the batter and catcher, who just look perplexed. Lynn was starting to sweat already, and the game had hardly started.

"Don't worry, Lynn...you got this." Lincoln's voice said in her left ear. Her eyes darted in that direction, while she still faced home plate. Once more, there was her brother, standing on the mound with her this time.

"Get out of here, you idiot…" She whispered angrily. "Or you'll get us penalized, if not disqualified."

"I know I'm not really the best guy around when it comes to sports related stuff…" He continued, putting a hand on her shoulder. How come the umpire hasn't said anything yet? Does he not see this field intruder? "...but I do know a champ when I see one, and you are a champ."

"I said get lost." She said, a little bit louder.

"Hey!" The opposing batter yelled out. "Are you going to pitch, or just stand there talking to yourself all day!?"

'Why don't you just-talking to myself?' Something clicked into place in her mind as she glanced toward the Lincoln still giving her a pep talk. '...he's not really here. Good, I'm just hallucinating...wait...good lord, I'm hallucinating…that's a bad sign.' Bad sign or not, she still had a game to pitch, so she just had to ignore him.

"Smoke 'im, champ." The mirage of her little brother told her, just as she threw a wild pitch that went far too low.

"Ball!" The umpire cried. Lynn grit her teeth and hissed a little as the catcher threw the ball back.

'Focus, Lynn...focus.' She said to herself.

"This guy's got nothing on you, Lynn. Strike him out." The little boy that wasn't there encouraged her.

'Why was he still talking?' She wondered as she threw another pitch, this time too wide. That was ball two. '...and why does it sound like he's giving me a pep talk?' She tried to drown him out, but with him continuing to try and inspire her, she couldn't get back into her mojo. She ended up walking the batter. 'Dang it...what is wrong with me? I can usually block out hecklers...why can't I ignore him!?' She glared over at Lincoln...but once more, he wasn't there. '...good. He's gone. Now I need to make up for-' She started to think, but then the next batter took to the plate. A smaller kid who looked up to face Lynn. He looked just like a younger Lincoln...like a four year old Lincoln. Seeing that made the sporty sister freeze in place.

"Come on, Lynn. Throw it right over the plate. Hard as you can." Little Lincoln called out with a smile of confidence. "I can take it." She knew this was impossible. She knew there was no possible way her brother became a four year old toddler again...although they did live with Lisa, so maybe impossible wasn't the right word...but what she knew was impossible went right out the window in this case. All she saw was her little little brother in front of her...just like old times. It was actually making her eyes fill up with tears.

"...I know you can…" She said, sounding a little choked up.

"What's up with Lynn?" Margo asked herself from first base as she watched her best friend and teammate look like she had just watched her baby sister score her first goal or touchdown. It was just peculiar, until she watched the ponytailed pitcher throw the easiest underhand pitch. Then it just became insane. Even the batter seemed lost before he swung the bat and sent the ball flying. The crack of wood on leather snapped Lynn out of her hallucination, and she realized she had just happened. She watched in horror as the ball flew over her head and into the outfield. Fortunately, it wasn't a homerun and the outfielder was able to throw it back before the first runner could reach third.

"Lynn! What's the matter with you!?" The coach screamed angrily after calling for a time out and storming out to the pitcher's mound. He glared down at her back as she stared outfield for a short while before she started reeling. She puts her hand on her forehead, looking about to faint. The coach's anger faded in an instant as he caught her before she fell. "Lynn…?"

"I think the sun's getting to me…" She lied, shielding her eyes with her hand.

"Send in the relief pitcher!" He called back to the benches as he hurriedly brought Lynn back to the dugout. Meanwhile, Lynn Sr, Rita and Lisa hastily made their way over to make sure the little sports star was alright.

"Lynn, sweetie, is something wrong?" Her mother asked in concern.

"...I don't know…" She admitted quietly as her coach went to go get a nurse, one of her teammates handing her some water. "...I keep seeing Lincoln all over the place...in the crowd, among the opposing team, right next to me on the mound…" She shook her head as she took a drink of water.

"You're...seeing Lincoln?" Lynn Sr asked. "But he's at home…"

"I know that...but everywhere I look...there he is...pep talking me...or reminding me of when he was a little guy…"

"Hmmm. If I had to give a snap prognosis, elder sister, I would say that your mental faculties are attempting to communicate with you." Lisa theorized under her breath to her older sister. "Perhaps as a result of a decision, or decisions, made that you possibly feel guilty about."

"Guilty? Ha…" Lynn scoffed weakly as she looked down into the half filled glass of water. 'What do I have to feel guilty about?' She thought to herself 'Lincoln? Heck no. He's the one who should feel guilty, costing us a big game...I mean, yeah, I had to threaten him to get him to go bu-' She paused when she thought about that and quickly changed the subject. 'He's just plain bad luck anyway...I mean, that's why I encouraged everyone to stay away from him. To exclude him from...everything…' Her stubborn walls were starting to crumble as she tried another angle. 'It...it was for the good of the family...that's why we kicked him...out of the house...with nothing…at my recommendation...' The cup dropped from Lynn's hand as her grip slackened on it, an expression like she had been punched in the stomach on her face. "Sh….oot…' Moments later, the coach had returned with the nurse, just as Lynn got to her feet.

"Are you feeling any better-?"

"I'm sorry, coach...but I can't play today." She interrupted him in a dead sort of voice. "I have to go home…"

"What?"

"I have to go back home...I'm not feeling well...I'm sorry." She said, looking up at her now incredibly concerned parents. The coach and nurse just looked kind of slack jawed at her as she started to walk off the field, her head kind of hung, headed toward Vanzilla.

"I don't get it…" The coach said, scratching his head, the players of both teams as lost as he was. "Lynn's never walked out of a game like that before. She loves baseball too much for that." He commented, now observing the entire Loud family hurried off toward the van. "It must be something big…"


	12. Chapter 12: Tragedy at Home

Tragedy at home

"So...what exactly is it you're feeling, Lucy?" Lori asked as she walked at a quick pace with her younger, goth sister. They were about half way home.

"I'm not entirely certain." The pale little girl responded, her eyes straight forward with iron clad focus. "It feels an awful lot like that feeling I felt before I found Flaps in the attic nearly a month ago…"

"Flaps?" Her oldest sister inquired. "But didn't you have a funeral for him about...a month...ago?" A wave of panic surged through Lori as she made the connection. "You're not saying-!?"

"No. Not for certain. But whatever it is...it is bad." Lucy explained.

"We better get home in a hurry then!" Lori declared, grabbing Lucy and putting her on her shoulders. She was about to attempt to break land speed records when she heard the blare of a horn beside her. She turned to see Vanzilla pulled up beside them.

"Need a lift?" Luan offered, opening the door and scooting over to let them in. Lori didn't reply, instead leaping into the old car with Lucy.

"Thanks...but I thought you guys were staying at the game."

"Lynn said she needed to go home." Leni said, gesturing toward the athletic Loud, her eyes locked onto the floor. The oldest of the sisters blinked, looking to thirteen year old sibling. Lynn? Leaving a baseball game? Inconceivable. However, here she was, looking like someone kicked Charles and got away with it. Lucy slowly looked toward her, looking her from head to toe. She could tell that her older sister was feeling bad about something, but what? It couldn't be Lincoln, could it? She couldn't dwell on this, however. Her focus was on that bad feeling she had. The one centered on their home. In a few short minutes, Lynn Sr pulled in to the driveway, with Lynn Jr leaping from the window before he could even put it into park.

'Just gotta find Lincoln…' She thought to herself as she ran around the back. '...talk to him...tell him I'm-' Her thought process was interrupted when she slid to a stop in the backyard and found…nothing. There was no sign of her brother anywhere. '...no.' She thought to herself as she started to frantically search: behind the tool shed, the tree, under the porch. Still nothing. "No…" She said aloud, panic starting to set in. "Nonononono…"

"Lynn? What is it?" Lori inquired, leading the family as they ran around the side of the house.

"Lincoln's gone!" The ponytailed athlete declared, throwing her arms wide to indicate the mostly empty backyard.

"WHAT!?" Ten voices all exclaimed at once, while Lily simply looked around in confusion when she didn't see her brother anywhere.

"Oh no...where could he have gone!?" Rita asked, fear and worry filling her very core.

"You don't think he ran away, do you?" Lana inquired, her eyes scanning the ground for clues.

"What if he did?" Leni brought up, her eyes starting to well up. "With his bad luck, he could get seriously hurt...or someone else could…"

"We gotta find him…" Lynn Jr said, her hands on her head as if she had a terrible headache. "Where would he go in this case…?"

"I thought you didn't want to be anywhere near him? He's bad luck, after all." Lola told her.

"Shut it!" The short tempered brunette snapped, snarling at the pageant princess.

"Hey, Louds!" Mr Grouse yelled from his back porch, looking grumpy as usual. "Keep it down! I was enjoying the peace and quiet while you were away!"

"Sorry, Mr Grouse…" The Loud patriarch apologized, moving over to the fence to speak with the grouchy old man. "Did you...happen to see Lincoln at any point while we were gone?"

"Yeah...the little snow cap was using that trampoline there…" The tubby grump pointed down at the trampoline under Lincoln's window. "...to get up there." He directed their attention to the open window. "Kinda stupid if you ask me, but at least he was QUIET about it…" The Louds all looked up toward the window to what was once Lincoln's room and they all felt a brief moment of relief.

"Do you know how long ago that was?" Lisa asked.

"I think it was...I don't care." Mr Grouse responded. "Just keep it down!" He shouted before he slammed the door shut.

"Alright...I'll head up there the same way Lincoln did." Lynn said, moving over to the trampoline. "You guys get his door."

"Right. I'll get my tools." Lana replied, running into the house through the backdoor, closely followed by her sister and parents. The sporty sister sprang onto the spring loaded bouncing platform and propelled herself up to Lincoln's window, grabbing hold of the sill. Pulling herself up, she found the white haired boy laying on the floor, on his side facing the wall. He looked like he was asleep. The superstitious sister sighed with relief as she scaled through the window. Looking around at the bare room, she felt like pins were being thrust through her soul like it were a voodoo doll.

'...thanks life...I didn't feel bad enough…' she thought bitterly before looking toward her brother. She moved over beside him, kneeling down to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. She gently shook him, taking note of how cold he felt when her hand touched his neck. "Lincoln? Hey...wake up, bro…" She said somewhat quietly, trying to get him to stir. "I have something I need to say…" The room was silent for a moment before she continued. "...Lincoln...I'm sorry." She finally said. "I'm sorry for everything...for threatening you to come to the game that started this...for making your life so difficult even if you were bad luck...for being the reason you were kicked out…" She continued, her eyes starting to fill with tears. "...even with you being a jinx...you're still my brother...and it was a rotten thing for me to do...they were rotten things I did…and I'm sorry." She wiped the tears from her eyes, turning her attention to her brother laying on the floor. Utter silence followed her statement. This irritated the athlete to no end. "Hello!?" She yelled, shaking him harder. "Are you kidding me!?" It was about this time when she heard the sound of nails being ripped out of the wall and the door being shoved open, Leni holding a crowbar and Lana, Lola and Lori looking rather impressed with her.

"Whoa...you pulled them all out at once!" Lana exclaimed as she reclaimed her pry bar.

"Is Lincoln here?" Lynn Sr asked as the family tried to cram themselves into the not so cramped room.

"Yeah...he's right here…" Lynn grumbled. "...I just poured my soul out to this little goober, and he couldn't be bothered to wake up and listen…" The two parents and many sisters looked rather concerned, with Lisa frowning. The four year old genius moved forward and took hold of Lincoln's wrist, checking his pulse. "I swear...I've been tearing myself apart on the inside since we left the game…" Lynn started to rant, not really watching the brilliant toddler as her eyes widened for a moment. She reached for the boy's neck next, sweating a little. "I wanted to apologize to him, but he won't listen…"

"Actually, Lynn…" Lisa said solemnly, stepping away from her brother, her voice cracking a little. All eyes turned to the toddler in the green turtleneck. "...I'm afraid he cannot listen...or wake up." She sniffled a bit before taking a deep breath. "I'm afraid...our dear brother...is no more."


	13. Chapter 13: From the brink

From the brink

"N...No more?" Rita asked in a trembling tone, an expression of pure terror on her face.

"A...are you sure, Lisa?" Lori also asked, leaning over beside her and the motionless boy.

"Positive, eldest sister…" The four year old brainiac replied, closing her eyes in sorrow. "I don't feel a pulse, and he feels quite cold...I suspect it was a result of exposure to the elements, but I cannot be certain…" You could have heard a pin drop in the Loud House that moment. Most of the family were unable to belief or fathom the fact that Lincoln was gone, while the others couldn't bear the thought. Lola, Lana and Leni's eyes were starting to fill with tears, while Lynn Sr and Rita Loud embraced each other, sobbing silently.

"Dude...it just can't be…" Luna said, her voice all choked up and her hands shaking.

"No…" Lynn Jr finally said, her hands balling up into fists as she struggled to hold back her own flood of tears. "No…" She repeated, punching the floor in front of her, unable to hold it back much longer. "NOOOOO!" She screamed loudly before she started bawling uncontrollably.

"Lynn…" Leni said softly as she moved over to try and comfort her grief stricken sister.

"My fault...it all my fault he died!" Lynn wailed, slamming her fist against the floor, crying her eyes out. Her kindly older sister opened her mouth to correct her, but the hot tempered athlete shoved her back with her shoulder. "Don't tell me it isn't!" She screamed at the now frightened Leni.

"H...How did you know-" She tried to say, but the distraught Lynn cut her off.

"It IS all my fault! I was the one who called him bad luck! I pushed everyone away from him! Pushed to have him kicked out!" She screamed before she fell back to her knees. "...I threatened him with my baseball bat to make him to come to the game that started it all…"

"Wait...you did what!?" Both her parents exclaimed, turning to look at her in angry disbelief.

"Mother, father, I feel this is not the time to discuss this." Lisa interjected, doing her darnedest to keep her cool. While this was going on, Lucy moved in closer to inspect Lincoln's body herself, so she could plan his funeral. She gently placed a hand on his face, then felt a strange chill go up her spine. She never reacted like this to a dead body before. Something wasn't right… While Lisa was discussing how they were going to explain this to a doctor, the spiritually attuned young girl was waving her hands over Lincoln's body.

"He's not dead." She suddenly said, causing all conversation behind her to cease.

"Wh...what?" Lynn Sr asked.

"Lucy, if this is some kind of sick, dark joke…" Lynn Jr warned her through gritted teeth.

"I don't do jokes." The family goth responded flatly. "Lincoln isn't dead."

"Lucy, with all due respect, I personally inspected our dear elder brother, and everything I've discovered says he is deceased." Lisa said, moving forward and leering at her older sister. Lucy turned around suddenly, nearly nose to nose with the four year old.

"Of everyone in the room, who here has greater knowledge of the intricacies of death?" She asked Lisa in a low, angry tone. The young genius considered her question for a moment before she took a step back from her.

"Proceed."

"As I said, he's not dead...but he's getting there. We need to act quick or we're going to lose him for good." Lucy explained, turning her attention to her older brother. "First, we need to restart his heart."

"I'll get the defibrillator." Lisa said, hurrying off to the room she shared with Lily.

"We'll also need a warm place for him, to help keep his body temperature regulated."

"Our room is closest!" Lana offered, Lucy turning her attention to the tomboy twin.

"My bed is softer!" Lola added. She looked at Lana, expecting an argument, but she just nodded. It was true, after all.

"Now we just need to-" The gothic Loud started to say, returning to Lincoln, but to her surprise, his body was gone. "What the?"

"Where'd he go?" Lori asked, her eyes scanning the room and the hallway.

"In here!" Lynn Jr called from Lola and Lana's room. The family quickly moved to the door of the twins' chamber, where the sports loving teen was putting Lincoln in Lola's bed.

"One step ahead." Lucy muttered as she moved over to their brother, unbuttoning his pajama shirt. At this point, Lisa rolled her defibrillator into the room, as well as a machine to check Lincoln's vitals. Within a few seconds, the young man was hooked up and Lisa had the medical machine prepped and ready.

"Stand back…" she warned as she placed the two contacts onto Lincoln's chest. "Clear!" A surge of electricity shot through the unresponsive boy, causing him to jump. She glanced toward the heart monitor. It showed he was still flatlining. "Ok...try it again...clear!" Once more, she sent a sharp shock into Lincoln. And once more, there was no improvement. "Third times the charm…" Lisa muttered, starting to sweat. "Come on, Lincoln...don't you dare expire on me…" she rubbed the two contacts together, a determined look in her eyes. "CLEAR!" She exclaimed, sending one last jolt into her brother. All eyes were centered right on the young man, still as unresponsive as before and still a flat line...until a faint blip was heard.

"What was that?" Lana asked, caught off guard by the sound. A second blip was heard seconds later.

"Is that…?" Lynn asked, looking toward the heart monitor. A third weak beep was heard, followed by a fourth seconds later. It was faint, but it was a definitive pulse. This bit of good news made the family cheer loudly, Leni pulling the little genius into a hug, while Lisa smiled somewhat proudly. Lucy sighed quietly with relief as she covered Lincoln with Lola's blanket.

"Excellent work, Lisa." The little goth said. "Now we've got the easy part out of the way…"

"Wait...that was the easy part?" Lori asked, pausing in mid celebration, followed by the rest of her family.

"If that was easy...what's the hard part?" Luna inquired, uncertain if she really wanted to know the answer.

"...finding Lincoln's soul." She replied simply, turning on her heel and walking through her gobsmacked family out of the room.

"I'll help!" Leni offered after putting Lisa down. "I'll look downstairs."

"Leni, wait!" Her mother called out, but Leni was already out the door and heading down the stairs.

"...maybe it's for the best we just let Leni think she's helping in that regard…" Lisa suggested, shaking her head a little.

"I suppose…" Rita said half heartedly before she went after her supernaturally connected daughter. "Lucy, what did you mean by we needed to find Lincoln's soul?"

"Lincoln's immortal soul has departed his mortal body." She explained as the gothic Loud went into the room she shared with Lynn. "Possibly an out of body experience gone wrong, I cannot say for certain. But his soul has become lost."

"Can you find it…?"

"I can try." Lucy soon stepped out, dressed in her fortune telling outfit and carrying her crystal ball under her arm. "The trouble is that his soul could be anywhere: on the mortal coil, limbo, heaven, hell, or any number of planes of existence in between...it'll be like looking for a needle in an extraplanar haystack…" She started on her way back to where her brother lay motionless in the twins' room. "But make no mistake...I won't rest until I find him…" She reassured her mother, before thinking to herself. '...but even if I find him...will he want to come back?'


	14. Chapter 14: A prickly wake up

A prickly wake up

"**I was enjoying a decent night's sleep. Better than I expected, really. However, when I was awoken, I found myself unable to move. What's more, I was confronted by someone who...seemed somewhat familiar to me."**

Lincoln must have been sleeping soundly. If he weren't, he would have heard the intruder slipping into his room from the wardrobe. He would have noticed when his wrists and ankles were tied together. He did stir, however, when he was shaken and roused from his sleep. "Ugh...just five more minutes, Lori…" He mumbled in his barely awake state. This earned him a slap in the face. "Ouch! A simple no would have suff-" Lincoln started to complain, but when his vision cleared up, he saw a little cactus girl glaring at him. She was dressed as a cowgirl, except for the sombrero, and had some rope wrapped around her chest like a bandolier. Despite never actually seeing her before, he couldn't help but feel he had. "...you're not Lori…"

"No. I'm not." She said angrily, in a thick latin accent. "Now, I am going to ask you a question...and you better have the right answer."

"Gulp...what is the question?" He asked, trembling a bit at the searing look in her eyes.

"Where is my brother!?" She demanded to know, getting right in his face.

"Your...brother?" He inquired in confusion.

"Did I stutter!?" She yelled right into his face.

"But...I don't know your-" He started to say, but as he was saying this, his sleep addled mind had cleared up and he remembered: the Cactus Gunman. He was mentally slapping himself for not seeing it from the start.

"Don't you lie to me! I know you dueled my brother and you did something to him, so you better tell me what you did to him and where he is!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know where he went." Lincoln replied, shaking a bit.

"I'm warning you...if you keep lying to me, it's going to quite unpleasant…" She warned him, reaching behind her back.

"Don't shoot me! I swear, I don't know!" The one son exclaimed in a panic.

"Shoot you? Why would I shoot you?" She asked indignantly. "You aren't armed, and shooting you would be too quick…" She growled, continuing to reach behind herself. Lincoln closed his eyes, bracing himself for what she may have in mind. His brain raced with possibilities: threatening him with a knife. Smacking him around with a blackjack. Performing impromptu acupuncture with her own cactus needles. His grit his teeth as he waited for her to do...whatever it was she was planning.

"...pfff ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!" The middle Loud suddenly burst out laughing as the gunman's sister brushed a feather along his feet. This was definitely not what he was expecting, and certainly not the worst thing that could have happened. He wasn't telling her that: she might decide to do something much worse.

"Where is my brother!?" She inquired aggressively.

"I don't know hahahahahahahahahaha!"

"Liar!" She snapped, flicking the feather more furiously between his two feet.

"Stahahahahahahahahahap!" Lincoln pleaded, kicking and squirming in the process. Cactus Girl grabbed hold of his legs, keeping them held with surprising strength.

"Where is my brother!?"

"I swehehehehehehehehehehehehear I don't know!"

"The more you lie, the longer this will last…" She warned him. "And unlike you, I can do this all day…" Lincoln's face was turning a little pink as he continued to laugh non stop. She was absolutely relentless, but the white haired boy truly had no idea where Cactus Gunman had ran off after the duel. However, he knew he needed to do something, or she escalate from tickling to something more painful.

"Wahahahahahahahahahahait! Waitwaitwaitwaitwait hahahahaha!" He cried out. She had stopped at the moment the first wait left his lips, glaring back at him.

"...it's not wise to keep a lady waiting...so make it quick."

"I...I swear...I don't know where your brother is…" Lincoln told her as he caught his breath. Her eyes narrowed as she made a move to get back to tickling him. "...BUT I can help you find him!" He added very quickly, sweating a bit. "Would that work? Helping you find him?" The plant cowgirl considered his offer for a moment, the room silent except for Lincoln's breathing. After nearly a minute, she let go of his legs.

"Alright...you will help my find my brother…" She grumbled, starting to untie him. The one son sighed with relief as his ankles and wrists were freed, but then she wrapped the rope around his waist, tying it tight. "But I'm keeping you on a short leash! Try to get away or give me the run around, and you'll regret it!"

"Ok! Ok!" Lincoln said, hurrying as he threw on a pair of slippers. 'Best get a move on on this…' He thought to himself. The two of them left his room, with the human boy taking the lead and Cactus Girl following, holding the rope tied around him. 'Ok...how do I go about this?' He thought to himself. 'What would Ace Savvy do?...check out the scene of the crime of course.' He realized, making a beeline to where he believed the duel took place. Fortunately, Gregory hadn't had the chance to clean up that hall yet, so the pool of his blood was still on the floor and the bullet hole was still in the wall. "Ok...this is where the 'duel' took place…" Lincoln thought out loud, more to keep his capturer in the loop. He looked down the hall, where he had sent the old rat on the wild goose chase. "That's where I told Gregory he went..." The one son pointed out, before pointing down another corridor. "...when he really went that way, so we should check this way first." He reasoned.

"Why did you tell Gregory that?" The angry little girl asked suspiciously. The white haired lad was quiet for a moment before he answered;

"Would you believe me regardless of what I said?"

"...probably not." She replied, continuing to tail him in silence after that. He glanced back at her every so often as they went along, making sure she was still with him. A pointless gesture, as she was clinging to the rope holding him like it were a dog's leash. Maybe it was his imagination, but something about her...seemed very familiar to him. He wasn't sure what it was, since he knew he never met her before, but he couldn't shake the feeling. The duo traverse the hall until they come across Gregory sweeping up a broken vase, grumbling to himself. Seeing the mess gave Lincoln the impression that the panicked gunman knocked over the urn in his attempt to get away.

"Damn cactus…" The hotel owner growled, confirming the boy's theory. "I don't know how he escaped me, but-oh, hello my friend." He said, shifting gears back to his more polite side. "Looking for a late night snack?" For some reason, Cactus Girl hid behind Lincoln before the interaction took place.

"It's late night?" Lincoln asked, getting a little frustrated at how he couldn't tell what time it was. He shook it off after a few seconds, then said. "Actually, I was looking for someone...and by the look of it, I'm on the right track."

"Oh, you're looking for that maniac too?" The aged rodent inquired, further angering the needle coated young lady behind Lincoln. "Well, if you do find him, be sure to give him a smack for me, would you?"

"I didn't really intend to hit anyone…"

"Oh, you don't need to play nice, my friend. He did try and shoot you, after all. If his aim weren't utter crap, he probably would have-"

"Don't you talk about my brother like that, you mangy rodent!" She screamed, leaping out from behind the white haired boy.

"Whoa!" Gregory was startled by the sudden appearance of Cactus Girl, nearly dropping the dustpan in his hand. He looked between the green rinded girl and the human boy, taking note of the rope around his middle. "Oh, I see. Got 'roped' into a date, Mr Loud?" He asked with a snicker. The white haired boy just rolled his eyes, but Cactus Girl just blushed before she shouted indignantly.

"Date!? You think I would even consider dating something like that!?" She pointed right at Lincoln beside her. "He's taking me to my brother...if he knows what's good for him."

'I'm getting a serious case of deja vu here…' He thought to himself, not as offended at her comment as he probably should be.

"Oh. I see. And here I was worried about your taste, Mr Loud." The elderly rat man said with a nasty chuckle. Cactus Girl was furious, but Lincoln gently took hold of her arm and pulled her away from Gregory before it could come to blows.

"Come on...we aren't going to find your brother arguing with him…" He said quietly, as the spine lined sister struggled to get away and start punching the aggravating rat.

"Grrrr. I can't stand him…" She growled. "What is his problem!?"

"Probably jealous that he can't get a date." Lincoln joked with a soft chuckle. The gunman's little sister stifled a giggle, then kicked him in the back of his leg.

"This isn't a date!"

"Ouch! I know! I know! I was just making a joke...geez.." Lincoln said sourly, rubbing the back of his leg. The two continued on their way along the corridor in tense, angry silence, until they reached a three way intersection.

"Which way now?" She asked him as he knelt down to the ground.

'Let's see...if Gregory didn't have time to clean yet...there may be some clue left here…' He considered as his eyes carefully scanned the hardwood floor. He noticed some grains of sand in a line along the path they just came from and off to the right. "That way." He finally said, pointing to the right passage.

"How can you be certain?"

"During our 'duel', we were, somehow, in an old west style town. When we came back to Gregory House, he must have still had sand on his feet, leaving a trail." He answered, pointing out the faint trail.

"...where did you learn to track like this?" She asked, trying to hide the fact she was somewhat impressed.

"I guess I've picked up a couple things about deductive reasoning from Ace Savvy." He responded.

"Who's Ace Savvy?"

"A superhero whose comic I love reading; the savviest superhero of them all." He explained. Cactus Girl just looked at him, then shook her head.

"Nerd." The young man simply ignored that comment, as he had been called worse before, and simply focused on the task at hand. Lincoln came to a stop when he came to the darkened stairs leading further up. The sand trail had stopped in front of these stairs. Each level was covered with dust, except for some circular prints. He pointed up the stairs before he started to scale them. Normally, he would be scared of such an endeavor. However, after facing near death at the hands of Lost Doll and Catherine, and nearly getting shot by Cactus Gunman...his tolerance for fear was much stronger than it used to be. "A...are you sure he's up here?" Cactus Girl asked, trying unsuccessfully to not sound nervous.

"Pretty sure. All the clues point to it." He said quietly. At the top of the stairs was an open door, leading to a dark attic. The attic was a labyrinth of boxes, trunks, suitcases, and assorted junk all over the place. "...man, what does he keep up here?"

"I've heard he keeps the belongings of guests up here…after they...checkout." The young cactus lady said, looking around at all the stuff. Lincoln suddenly didn't want to know anymore. He moved carefully among the boxes until a case popped open in front of him, causing him to recoil back from it. Among a flurry of papers and pens, a business card floated out and landed on top of his right slipper. He looked down and picked it up for closer examination.

"Steve Haniwa?" He muttered after reading the name on the card. Just then, a gunshot rang out and a bullethole appeared on the box next to his head. He immediately dove for cover, pulling Cactus Girl with him out of instinct.

"You'll never take me alive, gilipollas!" A voice shouted out from the darkness, a few more shots being fired wildly.

"...that's him alright…" Lincoln said nonchalantly. "Hold your fire! We mean no harm!" He shouted out to him.

"You again! I thought I warned you…"

"Big brother! Stop shooting!" Cactus Girl cried out to him.

"Sister?" Cactus Gunman suddenly leaned out from his cover as his little sister ran out from behind the boxes she and Lincoln were hiding behind. "Sister!" He jumped out and gave her a big hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you, big brother...and I heard that this rattlesnake had a hand in your disappearance…" She glared back at Lincoln, who was still cautiously watching from his hiding place.

"Him? No, sister. I came here on my own." He started to explain, kneeling closer to her level. "After I shot Gregory by accident after our duel." He then glared over at the white haired boy. "...though rattlesnake is a good word for the filthy traitor…"

"Traitor?"

"Yes, my dear sister...he is the one who ruined the first CactusLand rebellion!" The gunman accused, gesturing violently in the young boy's direction. She slowly looked to Lincoln, then back to her brother with an unamused look: a look that kind of withered the older cacti. "...sister?"

"Brother...that happened before I was born…" She said in a VERY irritated, low tone. "...and that boy is only like…" She glanced back at him for a moment before returning to her older brother. "...a year or two older than I am. HOW could he have even BEEN there!?"

"My point exactly…" Lincoln muttered to himself.

"Gulp...perhaps...perhaps I was mistaken…" Cactus Gunman muttered sheepishly.

"Brother...I love you...but you are an idiot…" His little sister said with a sigh.

'Wait...now I know where I may have seen her before.' Lincoln thought, a vision of Ronnie Anne and her brother Bobby appearing where the two once stood briefly. 'Ronnie Anne...kinda rough on the outside, but caring on the inside. And her brother is like Bobby...bumbly, and kind of a goof, but passionate…I wonder.'

"Amigo, it seems we owe you an apology." The cacti outlaw said as he walked toward Lincoln with his little sister in tow. "It seems we both had...errors in judgement, shall we say?"

"Well, I don't blame her for what she did. I know...knew...the importance of family." He said, which caused the cactus siblings to give one another strange looks. "And as for you...while you probably could have handled it without guns...I won't hold it against you."

"Well, I think introductions are in order. I am Cactus Gunman."

'One I probably could have guessed on my own.' Lincoln thought to himself

"And my little sister, Cactus Girl."

"My name's Lincoln. Lincoln Loud." The white haired boy responded politely, shaking his hand.

"I guess it was pretty lucky for you that I missed my mark." The cactus outlaw said with a chuckle. The moment the word 'luck' was mentioned, a wave of nausea overcame the young man, along with a wave of fury. He gripped the cactus' hand harder, his face contorting with anger. "Whoa...you have quite a grip, senor Loud." The young man suddenly got right into the gunman's face, sneering furiously at him.

"Don't. Mention. That. Word. Again!"

"Brother!" Cactus Girl gasped before snapping to a more serious look, drawing a revolver on the one son. After a few seconds, Lincoln seemed to snap out of it and quickly released the gun toting desert flora.

"...I'm sorry...I don't know what came over me…"

"No harm done, amigo...but if I may ask...why is it that... bothers you so much?"

"I'm not-" Lincoln started to say, but then he heard a voice in his head. A girl's voice he hadn't heard yet. She was yelling at him. Blaming him for...something. She called him bad luck. A jinx. Then, he started to hear the voices of his other sisters and his parents. They were telling him that he couldn't go to the movies with them. He was bad luck. His head was starting to hurt as mentally pressed on. Then...he remembered. The straw that broke the camel's back. The moment when he was barred from his room and forced out of the house. "...my family kicked me out of my room, and then our house…" He said, which alerted the cacti siblings. "...because they believed I was bad luck."


	15. Chapter 15: Painful Memories

Painful memories

"**Bad luck...that's why I was thrown out. But of course, there was more to the story...but the more I thought about it...the more I regretted it. I guess that's why my head hurt me whenever I tried to think of it…"**

Cactus Gunman and Girl just blinked when they heard this, looked to one another, then both of them started laughing. "Hahaha! Good one, amigo." The outlaw said, under the impression that Lincoln was joking.

"No one is that stupid or cruel!" Cactus Girl said through her laughter. Then she looked at Lincoln, noticing the downcast and hurt look on his face. She stopped laughing almost instantly: he wasn't joking. She nudged her brother with her elbow, which got him to stop.

"What?" He asked in an annoyed manner. She pointed to the one son, which was all he needed to see. "Oh...you weren't kidding...were you?"

"No…" Lincoln replied, sitting down on one of the cardboard boxes up in the attic.

"I...I'm sorry, Senor Loud. I had no way of knowing…" The mustachioed cactus said with sympathy, patting him on the back. "...it just sounded so...farfetched...even for this place."

"Apology accepted, Mr Gunman…"

"I can't believe it…" His little sister commented, shaking her head angrily. "How can a family do that to their own flesh and blood!? Over bad luck!?"

"I can hardly believe it myself...and it happened to me."

"How did it happen?" She demanded to know, running around to stand in front of him.

"...my memory is kinda hazy on the details...and it really hurts a lot to think about it...but let me try to remember…" Lincoln said as he took a deep breath to delve deep into his mind. "What do I remember…? One of my sisters...they wanted me to go someplace…" He said, cringing as his head started to throb slightly. "I can't recall which one…"

"Well, how many sisters do you have?" Cactus Gunman inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Seven that I can remember...but some memories have three people blurred out-"

"Wait! Really!?" The little spine laden girl gasped in astonishment, cutting him off.

"...so much for narrowing down the list, eh?"

"...My head hurts the most when I try and think of her too...I think she may have been the lynch pin of the whole thing...yes...I remember going where they wanted me to. Things didn't go well. She accused me of being a jinx…"

"And everyone just believed them!?" An indignant Cactus Girl exclaimed.

"...actually...no." Lincoln replied with a frown. "When did they start to believe that?" He asked, more to himself than anyone else. Back into his thoughts he went. Another of his sisters, Leni, asked if he was going to an event of hers. Someone told her not to, because Lincoln was bad luck. And he...went along with it? His frown gave way to a look of confusion. 'Why did I do that?' He thought. He traversed deeper down the mental rabbit hole. So many sisters, so many events. He tried to support them all, but he had little time for himself. So, when they started to uninvite him...He suddenly looked up with a horrified look, startling his two new friends. "...good grief...it's my own fault…"

"What!?" The young cowgirl asked even more indignantly.

"Senor, I find that impossible to believe…" Her older brother said with a shake of his head.

"No...it is. I encouraged the belief." The white haired boy slumped back against a heavy steamer chest, looking like he had just been told the worst possible news. "I just wanted some more time to myself...but my sisters needed a lot of my time...so when word got around that I was cursed...I actually helped move it along." He buried his face into his hands, about ready to start crying. "...why? How could I have done something so stupid?"

"...what happened next, amigo?"

"Well, over time, they started to exclude me from family events." Lincoln continued, in an almost soulless tone. "Then, I found they have blocked off my room, and that was when they told me I was living outside from then on. They couldn't risk my bad luck in the house anymore…" The two desert dwellers just stood there, mouths agape in horror. However, they weren't the only ones who heard the story. Gregory was listening at the door with a smirk.

"Really now? Very interesting…" He muttered before he slowly descended the stairs while snickering his cruel snicker.

"...surely you didn't take this laying down!" Cactus Girl finally snapped, her temper nearly boiling over.

"...no." Lincoln said, holding his head again as he tried to recollect. "...I tried to admit I was faking it...but it didn't work. The sister that started it...things were improving at the events she goes to...why can't I even remember what it was?" He paused for a moment, but then shook his head and continued. "...so I had a plan...a plan to prove I wasn't bad luck. But...when I got back into my room...I found everything was gone...and I felt very tired. I layed down, closed my eyes...next thing I know, I was in these dark woods in the middle of a thunderstorm." A fresh wave of horror ebbed through Lincoln as he started to come to a conclusion. "Oh no…"

"Oh no? Oh no what?" The older of the two cactus siblings asked, though he wondered if he really wanted to know.

"I died." He finally said. "That's the only explanation for this. I died...and I got sent to hell." He continued, his eyes starting to fill with tears. "It explains everything...that chef guy...Catherine...Judgement Boy judging me...I'm being punished for lying to my family...I-" He was stopped suddenly by a sharp slap to the face.

"Stop it!" Cactus Girl exclaimed, glaring at him. "You aren't dead!"

"I...I'm not?"

"No, amigo...though if you want to be technical...this kind of is hell." Cactus Gunman admitted.

"Brother...don't help…" The little cactus said with a frustrated sigh. "And second, you aren't be punished for lying. Was it a stupid thing to do? Si. But I personally don't blame you. You are entitled to free time. You're not here to be punished."

"Then...what am I doing here?" The one son asked. "And how did I get here?"

"I'm afraid we cannot say." The gun toting cactus said with a shake of his head.

"Everyone has their own reasons for being here." Cactus Girl explained to him. "And from what you just told us, you have a damned good reason...though it's not the place you'd want to be."

"Yeah...I got that impression." He replied. "...though, at this point...where else do I have to go?" The one son looked back down at the ground, a single tear falling from his eye. "...even if I remembered where my home was...what would be the point? I wouldn't even have a home to go to…" He sighed in sorrow before getting to his feet. "Well..if I'm going to be here for the foreseeable future...may as well earn my keep...I'll go get dressed and see what Gregory needs help with." He started to walk toward the stairs down when suddenly he got pulled back by the rope around his waist. "Gah! Hey, what was that for!?"

"Hold on a second!" Cactus Girl said firmly, still holding the rope. "I...just want to say thank you, and...I'm sorry for before…"

"Oh...it's alright. You were just worried about your brother." He responded, the cowgirl untying him. "I would have went looking for him too, were I in your shoes."

"Yeah...I imagine you would." She said, her arms behind her back. A bit of an awkward silence followed before she continued. "...anyway...to show my thanks...I wanted to give you this." She held out her hands, showing him a revolver with a pump at the back of it.

"A pop gun?"

"Si. I used this when I was learning to shoot." She explained, picking up a paper weight and putting it in the barrel, pumping it a few times. "It's quite powerful. Go ahead. Give it a try." She handed him the toy weapon, pointing toward the darkest part of the attic. He shrugged and pointed the barrel toward the dark. He pulled the trigger and the kickback nearly knocked him on his butt. The paper weight flew across the room like a missile and, judging by the loud sound of splintering wood, went right through the wall.

"Wow...that pop pistol packs a powerful punch." Lincoln said in surprise, rubbing his shoulder a bit. She nodded to him before he smiled lightly to her. "Thanks Cactus Girl. Around here, I think I'll need all the protection I can get."

"Hehehe. Yeah." She said with a giggle. "Well...see you around, Senor Loud. I hope things get better for you."

"Thanks, Cactus Girl. See you around. So long, Cactus Gunman." He replied, waving to them. She waved back as he descended the stairs. While he was pleased about making a few new friends, he felt very depressed. While there were still holes in his memory, the key points were remembered: he knew why he was so angry at his family, and just as angry with himself. One of his sisters accused him of being bad luck, he helped spread the belief and it eventually lead his family to kick him out of the house. And somehow, he ended up here sometime shortly after. He still had no idea where here was or how he got here...but right now, it seemed like this place was going to be his home now...whether he liked it or not.


	16. Chapter 16: A Mean Spirited Game

A mean spirited game

**"You'd think if I was going to be spending the rest of my life at this place, I would start heeding the cat's words. You'd be wrong. Something tells me my life here won't last long as a result…"**

After the white haired boy got changed into his normal clothes in his room, he made his way to the front reception desk. He kinda dragged his feet as he walked, looking bluer than Lost Doll's second face. However, as he started descending the stairs to the lobby, he tried to put on a happier face. He wasn't sure what it was, but he had a feeling that letting Gregory know how down he was wouldn't end well. "Ah, there you are, my friend. And minus an annoying accessory, I see." Gregory said, looking up from his 'accounting' book.

"She wasn't so bad, but yeah. We parted ways." Lincoln said. "Anyway, sorry it took so long, but I'm ready to help wherever I can."

"Your timing is excellent." The old rat said, closing the tome. "Though it's more a big favor than a task for the hotel. You see, my grandson has been rather...rambunctious as of late, and won't settle down. I think what he really needs is someone to play with. Would you be so kind?"

'Play with his grandson? That doesn't sound so bad.' He thought to himself. "Sure. I'd be happy to."

"Wonderful. You have my gratitude, Mr Loud." The elderly hotel owner said, turning toward a door behind him. "Oh, James!" The door behind him slowly opened, and out peeked a little beige mouse boy with blond hair, wearing a little striped shirt. He had a mischievous grin on his face that made Lincoln feel instantly at ease. "James, this is Lincoln Loud. He's kindly agreed to play with you. Lincoln, my grandson, James." Gregory said in introduction, walking over to nudge the little rodent into the open.

"Really? Oh boy!" James exclaimed, jumping up and down and running to and around the one son in a hyper manner. "I got someone new to play with!" He cheered. His previous unease was set aside as a small, genuine smile appeared on Lincoln's face. "Come on, Lincoln! Let's go!" The little mouse cried as he ran off away from the desk.

"Be right there." The white haired boy replied, walking after James as he hurried away.

"Hehehe...James ought to wear him down some. Especially if he continues to open that old wound of his…" Gregory muttered to himself, rubbing his hands together like a cartoon supervillain. "...and by the time he's done, Mr Loud will be ready for Mama…"

"This way, Lincoln! I know a really fun place!" James called, dashing down some stairs to the basement, followed soon by Lincoln.

"Wait...where are they going?" The old rat asked, squinting a bit as he looked toward the stairs. "The only thing down there is...Oh no!" Gregory gasped, springing from his stool. "He wouldn't bring Mr Loud there, would he?...Who am I kidding!? Wait!" He cried out, trying to run around the desk, but running face first into the opened door instead. "Ouch! My snout…"

* * *

"So, do you like games, Lincoln?" The young vermin asked, escorting the one son down in the dark catacombs of the hotel.

"I like games alright. Especially video games." He replied, following the little mouse through the darkness.

"I love video games!" James exclaimed. "...but all my games are at home…"

"Same here." Lincoln said, the thought of home making him cringe some.

"But we do have a really great board game here." Gregory's grandson said, pointing ahead to a large swinging door padded with what looked like red velvet. Very fancy, but also kind of out of place for this place.

'Then again, there was one door made entirely of gold upstairs. Probably just an eccentric guest.' Lincoln thought to himself as they approached. "Ah, who am I fooling? All the guests here could be considered eccentric.'

"You head on in first, Lincoln. I'll go grab some snacks and drinks from upstairs." James said as he pushed the door open for the one son.

"Alright. I'll get the game set up in the meantime. See you in a bit." Lincoln said as he strolled right in, unsuspecting of any trouble. The little mouse grinned as he shut the door behind him.

"James!" Gregory cried out, running out over to him. "Please don't tell me you sent him in there!" The older rat said in fear, catching his breath.

"OK, Grandpa. I won't tell you." The young rodent said, trying and failing to sound innocent.

"Oh no no no...I wanted you to wear him down...not kill him!" Gregory exclaimed, hands on his head. "Maybe...maybe I can get him out of there before it happens!" He said, dashing in to try and grab Lincoln. The moment he was gone, James barred the door behind him with a cruel smirk.

"No way am I missing this." He said, running off down one of the many halls of the basement level.

* * *

"Mr Loud!" Gregory shouted as soon as he was inside the room. The room was dark and empty, for the most part. Lincoln was trying to find the board game somewhere in the room, but unable to find it. But when the elderly rat yelled out, he paused and turned.

"Gregory? Are you planning to play too?"

"Mr Loud, we need to get out of here, before-" Before he could finish that sentence, the sound of horns filled the room. "Oh no. It's too late!" The hotel owner lamented as a spotlight shone through the darkness, revealing a little red faced little boy in a black and white checkered shirt and a spinner on his head. The boy laughed as he skipped his way over to them.

"Hello there! Ready to play?" He asked as the whole room started to light up. Lincoln and Gregory were standing on top of a glowing green circle labeled start. The rest of the floor turned into a winding board game route, mostly with little yellow circles making up the paths, and larger red and green ovals at odd intervals. Lincoln was amazed, but Gregory looked terrified.

"Whoa...this is incredible."

"Be careful, my friend...this is no ordinary game…" Gregory warned him.

"Come on! Spin me!" The boy with the spinner on his head chirped, bowing his head to the one son. The white haired boy just shrugged and spun the arrow on his head.

"Seven! Good spin! Go on ahead!" Roulette Boy said, stepping aside to let the human boy move. Lincoln started to move forward, walking seven paces until he stepped on a big red oval.

"...boom?" The man with the plan asked as the space lit up, shortly before it exploded in a fiery explosion. Gregory screamed in fright as a thick cloud of black smoke occupied the space that blew up, making it impossible to see if Lincoln was still there.

"Mr Loud!? MR LOUD!?"

"Cough cough...present…" Lincoln groaned as her coughed. When the smoke cleared, the one son was on his back, charred and covered in soot, but very much still alive.

"Oh, thank goodness...I thought you had...how did you survive that?" He asked as the middle Loud sat up and started to brush the dirt and soot off his face. He was about to respond that he didn't know, but then he was besieged by memories of explosions that went off back at his home. The source of them: a little brown haired girl with big glasses and a green turtle neck.

'LIsa…' He thought to himself as soon as he saw her in his mind. He then answered: "When you live with Lisa, you get used to explosions...hearing them, being near them, getting caught in them…"

'My word...this kid is tougher than I thought…' The elderly rat mused, half impressed and half irked. 'This may make it more difficult to prepare him for Mama…'

"Your turn!" The little game master exclaimed as he ran up to Gregory. "What are you waiting for? Spin me!" The old rodent gulped, but he had no choice. He was stuck here, so he had to play.

"Hahaha. Good luck, Grandpa!" James taunted from some seats arranged around the game board. It was difficult to see with the lights no illuminating them, but the little mouse's eyes could clearly be seen, with a big bucket of popcorn.

'James! You will pay for this!' His grandfather thought angrily as he spun the dial. He had gotten an eleven. "Please be safe. Please be safe…" Gregory pleaded quietly as he moved to his space, which was labeled 'train'. "Train?" He asked, just as a train whistle sounded. The furry geriatric blinked and looked down at the ground. A set of train tracks had appeared under him, and here came the locomotive, plowing right over him. Lincoln gasped and winced when the hotel owner had gotten run over. Seeing that made the one son realize just what Gregory was trying to say before...not that anything could be done about it now.

'Well, not like I have a lot to lose…' Lincoln thought to himself as he spun Roulette Boy's dial again. The rest of the game was more or less more of the same. The white haired boy got fairly lucky; getting a handful of safe spaces, and even the dangerous spots he was able to avoid serious harm. He was able to duck under a blade flying through the air, sidestepped a heavy weight (which still landed on his foot), and only got hit a few times by a flurry of spring loaded boxing gloves. He was bruised, singed and limping, but alive. Gregory, on the other hand, suffered terribly. He got blown up, crushed under a boulder, frozen in a block of ice, and caught in a giant bear trap. All the while, James continued to taunt his grandfather's luck and, each time the word was brought up, made Lincoln more and more angry. He just barely managed to keep his cool, however, as he spun the dial one last time.

"Six! Move ahead!" Roulette Boy declared, the one son storming on ahead until he stepped on the final square. The moment he did, the square opened up, causing him to fall into a hidden hatch.

"What a relief...he's out of danger...now I just need to-" Gregory started to say as he was taking his turn. He stopped just short of the end...on a space that said 'return to start'. "What!? NOOOOO!" The elderly rat cried out as he was forcibly pulled back to the start of the game. James was rolling around in his seat laughing at his grandfather's pain, Roulette Boy skipping over to him to start the whole process over again.


	17. Chapter 17: The Path Ahead

The Path Ahead

"**For a while, I thought I had no future left. At least, no future that didn't involve Gregory House. But after a talk with a mystery frog…"**

Lincoln wasn't sure how he ended up back on the halls of the ground floor, having gone down in the basement, but he wasn't so fussed. Not only was he getting used to the madness of this place, but he was also hot under the collar. James had tricked him, he come to realize. In hindsight, he probably should have seen it coming. After all, he was Gregory's grandson, and the young man trusted the old rat as far as he could throw Vanzilla. That said, the way the kid treated his own grandfather...thrown into the same deathtrap as Lincoln and laughing as he fell into each trap. It was evil, plain and simple. It didn't help that the short tailed brat kept on triggering the one son the whole time. Not that he thought it was on purpose, but it still got him all wound up. He was about to go look for the two mice to give them a piece of his mind, when he felt a chill down his spine. He froze in place, his eyes darting to either side. A creepy fog was rolling and fading at either side of him. He turned with a start to see a tent taking up most of the hallway. Inside the tent was a tiny frog woman in a little black dress and square hat sitting behind the crystal ball. She had an eerie smile on her face as she looked at him.

"Interest you in a reading, young wanderer?" She asked in a misty voice.

"I don't believe in fortune telling…" The middle son replied curtly, about to walk away.

"Is that so? You seemed to believe it when Lucy predicted your future…" The frog woman said slyly, causing the human boy to freeze.

"Wh...what do you know about-?"

"I know she is your sister. Eight years old, familiar with the darkness, and able to predict the future with remarkable accuracy for her age." She explained, which very much surprised Lincoln. "I know much, Lincoln Loud. I know who you are. I know why you are here. I know what your family did…" The white haired boy slowly approached the little frog woman and her crystal ball. "...and I know what lies ahead for you, young wanderer."

"...you have my undivided attention…" He told her, the fortune teller smirking with delight.

"I see...eleven people. Ten female, one male. They appear to be sad. Distraught. Something terrible has happened." She said as a faded image appeared in her crystal ball. Lincoln leaned in for a closer look and gasped. It was his family. They were all there, even a baby he didn't recognize at first, but after a few seconds…

"Lily…" He said in a voice suggesting he was lost in a dream.

"I see a body...no. Two bodies." Her grin widened as the scene shifted to show LIncoln laying on a comfortable looking pink bed. He wasn't moving, wasn't breathing from what he could tell. But there was someone was there too. He couldn't see her face, but there was something familiar about her brown hair and ponytail. That red and white jersey. That-

"AGH!" Lincoln screamed as he held his head in pain. The moment he tried to put any real thought into who she was, his head became filled with agony.

"Hmmm. It appears your mind is resisting any attempt to recall that one." Frog Fortuneteller reasoned.

"Just like when I tried to remember the bad luck incident…" The middle son said to himself, rubbing his temples.

"Very curious...wait...I see something new…" The amphibian soothsayer commented, staring into the glass sphere. "I see...a chance encounter with a close friend. Four hearts broken, one heart saved. You will ally with the forces of evil. Only then will the path be opened and, when it does, you will be forced to make the ultimate decision…" Lincoln blinked, for all he could see in the orb was swirling mist. That prediction didn't make a whole lot of sense to him. "You may not understand now, young wanderer...but soon…" The froggy oracle told him.

"I see...thank you…" He said, sounding very lost before he turned to leave. "...and sorry for being so surly earlier…"

"Think nothing of it, wanderer. I have had worse said to me." She told him. He smiled weakly to her as he started to walk away. Just then, something akin to static appeared in her crystal ball. This made the amphibious seer's eyes widen in surprise.

"What is this? Something interfering with my crystal ball?" She asked, staring closely at the sphere, the one son well away from her at this point. A face started to appear in the static. The face of a black haired, pale face little girl.

"Lin..?" She tried to say through the static. "Are y...ere?"

"Well now…isn't that interesting?" Frog Fortune Teller said, stroking her chin with two fingers as she watched the face be consumed by static.

* * *

"Dang it…" Lucy groaned as she lost any kind of vision in her own orb. "...I thought I was close...but the connection isn't strong enough…" Her sisters (minus Leni) and parents, all huddled around her, all sighed in disappointment.

"Is there anything we can do?" Luna asked, looking right into the ball.

"I'm afraid not." She said sadly. "If we had something with a stronger connection to him, we may have a better chance…"

"Stronger connection? We're family!? What could have-?"

"The family that threw him out…" Luna's mouth shut the moment she said that, the rock and roll girl looking down at the ground. "I'm surprised we even get a faint signal…"

"Wait. Maybe we can get some of his stuff and-" Lana started to say, hope filling her face.

"Impossible, elder sibling. After all, Mother and Father had sold all of Lincoln's belongings." Lisa reminded her, Lana's face falling and the two Loud parents cringing with guilt.

"In short...we're royally screwed…" Lynn groaned, her face in her palms.

"Hey guys…" Leni said as she stepped back into the room, her hands behind her back.

"Let me guess, Leni...you couldn't find Lincoln's soul?" Lori said, not really in the mood to hear her.

"No...but I found Bun Bun." She revealed the little bunny plush from behind her back.

"You what!?" Lucy exclaimed, whipping her head to look at the second oldest sister.

"Where did you find that!?" Lori asked in amazement. "I thought all of his stuff was sold."

"Me too. But I found him under the couch." The ditzy teen explained.

"That's perfect!" The little goth said with a smile. "Of all of his possessions, Lincoln had the strongest bond with Bun Bun. Give it here." She held out her pale hands to claim the stuffed animal, Leni giving it to her without hesitation. "With Bun Bun, we should be able to find him much easier now." Lucy set the stuffed rabbit in front of her as she sat back down before her glass sphere. 'Hang in there, Lincoln...wherever you are."


	18. Chapter 18: A Chance Encounter

A chance encounter

"**The fortune teller's words kept buzzing in my head. A chance encounter with a friend? Apart from Dog Mummy and the Cactus siblings, who do I know here that I could call a friend?"**

The white haired boy was walking back to the lobby with intent on finding James, or seeing if Gregory was alright. However, as he was walking through the dimly lit corridors, he couldn't help but think about what the fortune teller told him just seconds earlier. A chance encounter with a friend? Who exactly did she mean? Four hearts broken, one heart saved? Does that mean there are those with affection for him in this place? 'I certainly hope it's not Catherine…' Lincoln thought with a shudder. The one he thought was most perplexing was the idea that he would ally himself with evil. He had his faults, and he knew it, but evil was one thing he wasn't. Perhaps she was mistaken. After all, no one is infallible. As he continued to mull this over, a tall young lady with long black hair in a purple dress came strolling up from the opposite direction.

"Excuse me." She said in a soft monotone as she stopped, but he kept going. Lincoln paused and looked up to see her right in front of him.

"Oh. Sorry." He stepped to the side. "Hi Haiku." He said absently.

"Evening, Lincoln." She responded. The two start to part ways before they both freeze in place.

"Haiku!?" He asked in shock, his torso twisting around quickly to see her.

"Lincoln? What are you doing here?" She asked in curiosity and concern.

"I could ask you the same question."

"Hmmm. Very well. I come here every now and again." She responded softly before walking over to the young man. "It inspires me. Now, what about you? Why and how did you get here?"

"Truth be told, I don't know." He admitted with a sad sigh. "One minute, I'm falling asleep. Next minute, I'm in the middle of a storm in some fog laden woods just outside Gregory House." Her eyes widen as her concern grew.

"You didn't come here of your own volition?" Lincoln slowly shook his head. "...this is bad."

"Bad? What do you mean?" He asked before she grabbed his arm and hastily pulled him into the nearest empty room. "Ack! Hey, what…?"

"Lincoln, you are in great danger." She told him bluntly as soon as she was sure they were alone. To her surprise, he didn't even react to that, as if that wasn't news to him. "...I guess you've been here a while then…"

"A few days...I think."

"Really? Hmmm." She took a moment to consider this before she shook her head and continued. "It goes deeper than that, Lincoln...your very soul is at risk."

"My...soul?"

"This realm is a place where lost souls are drawn...drawn, worn through wandering, and then destroyed." She explained to him in a low voice.

"W...what?" The middle Loud exclaimed in fright. "How do you know this!?"

"I've been here several times before. I've heard things and done a lot of research from others who have visited Gregory House and lived…which admittedly isn't very many."

"...What else do you know about this place?"

"Not as much as I'd like." Haiku admitted with a sigh. "But what I do know isn't good. This place exists outside of what we know as reality. Beyond even the afterlife. A kind of limbo, I suppose you could call it. For the most part, lost or wandering souls end up here after their living forms had passed, but sometimes...the soul of a living person can end up here...when they grow tired of reality." The only son of the Loud family blinked when he heard that.

'Grow tired of reality?' He thought to himself. 'I can't say I would just give up on reality just like that..even after what happened recently.' He then recalled a few memories he had only glanced over. The moment in the hall with his sisters and father leering in an accusatory manner at him, accusing him of clogging the toilet. Only one sister remained blurred. He avoided even trying to think of her, to avoid the headache. Then, when his mother scolded him for getting them banned from the supermarket...an incident that wasn't even his fault. A memory of all of his sisters, even the blur, fighting intensely before Lincoln was forced to flee, only to return and learn his sisters made up only after he had left and stopped trying to help. '...then again...perhaps it was the last straw for me, subconsciously…' He considered, a somewhat depressed look on his face. A look that the tall young lady took notice of before he spoke again. "Are you saying...it's like suicide?" He asked with a shaky voice. Haiku frowned lightly as she considered the question.

"...In a sense, yes, but also no." She finally answered. "After all, your mortal body can live without your soul...if you can call it living. Existing would be more accurate, because that's all you will do. Just...exist, like a living mannequin." The young man gulped in fear. He didn't like the sound of that, and the gothic girl could tell.

"Is...there any way out of this place?" He asked her quietly. Haiku nodded her head once.

"Yes, if you came here the same way I had. Otherwise...it's more difficult."

"Can't I just leave with you?"

"I'm sorry, Lincoln, but your soul would just come with mine into my body in that case. There just isn't enough room." She told him, looking sorry to have to tell him that. "There is another way to leave, but it won't be easy, and you will need some help." The white haired boy thought about it for a moment. He might not have a home to go back to, but...to lose his soul...he couldn't bear to think of it.

"...how do I do it?"

"I don't know the specifics...but I can give you a few pieces of advice that can help you escape in one piece. Have you met Neko Zombie?"

"Um...I think I have." Lincoln said, taking a moment to think about it. "The cat with stitched eyes, ears and mouth?"

"That's him. Heed his words." She instructed him. "And given the fact you've already been here for a while, you probably already had interactions with Gregory. I suppose it's needless to say that you shouldn't trust him?" The middle Loud nods in reply. "Good. But for the time being, until you can escape, play along with him. Don't let him know you're about to leave. Just be careful when you do."

"Got it."

"And finally, something I read in a few of the accounts of the few survivors of this place. Each time they described their escape, they claimed the exit was 'right there in front of them the whole time'. I know it sounds vague…" She said quickly, but quietly when she noticed Lincoln was about to speak. "...but I'm afraid that's all the said on the matter."

"I see...thanks Haiku."

"Of course, Lincoln." She told him with a very slight smile, which faded rather quickly. "Lincoln...if I may ask...what is it do you think that may have drawn you to this place?"

"Huh? What do you mean…?" The one son asked, a bit of fear in his voice.

"I know you said you don't know how you got here, and I believe that. However, I also believe you have an idea of what may have drawn you to Gregory House...judging by your expression after I described some people giving up on reality…" She looked at him was a firm, half lidded stare as he looked down at the hardwood floors. A part of him wanted to tell her: to throw his family under the bus after they pretty much threw him out of their lives. However, the more he thought about it, the more he concluded that he couldn't do it. Telling Haiku, unlike the Cacti siblings, would have serious consequences in the real world, and while his family did deserve to face some consequences for what they did, utter ruin...didn't feel right to him.

"I'm sorry, Haiku...but I can't really explain my thoughts on the matter." He told her sadly. The tall goth girl with the hair that covered one of her eyes just looked at him for a moment, then nodded.

"Very well, Lincoln. If you don't wish to talk about it, I will respect your wish." She told him. However, on the inside, she thought she was question Lucy about this later. With as close as she seemed to her older brother, she should know something. "I should be moving along...we don't want to arouse suspicion."

"Right." The eleven year old boy replied, before he joked. "Gregory will probably think we're dating too." Haiku glanced back at him with a soft 'heh' and smile before she opened the door.

"Fare well, Lincoln. Take care and keep safe…" Were the last words she said before she disappeared from sight to continue exploring Gregory House as she usually did.

'Alright…' The one son thought to himself as he remained in the empty room for a moment longer. 'This place is even more messed up than I thought...but at least I know escape is possible…' He looked at the only door out of the room, leading to the hallway. 'Not sure what I'll do once I leave...but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. First things first, though...I need to talk to Neko Zombie.' He decided mentally before he strode over to the door, peeked out into the corridor to make sure the coast was clear, and then entered the darkened passage as if nothing happened.

* * *

_AN: Sorry to disappoint any Linku fans, but there's not going to be a romance between the two in this fic._


	19. Chapter 19: Family Problems

Family Problems

Things are near silent inside Lola and Lana's room, except for Lucy humming, with Lincoln's stuffed bunny between her and her glass sphere, and the beeping of the pulse monitor. Judging by the clarity of the image on the ball, it seemed to be working, but there was still no sign of their lost brother. Lisa was staying by Lincoln's body, keeping careful track of him. Lori stepped outside the room, pacing up and down the hall along with her father. Luan had Lily in her arms, trying to keep her calm and happy over on Lana's bed. And Lynn was downstairs on the couch, her chin on her knees and her arms wrapped around her legs. She was crying silently, well away from her family. She didn't want them to see her like this; the one who was supposed to be the strong one among them, crying even more than Lily. But she couldn't help it. The guilt, among other things, was ripping her apart on the inside, and all this waiting wasn't helping.

"Any luck, Luce?" Lana asked, staring into the crystal ball herself.

"...the connection is stronger, but no…" Lucy admitted glumly.

"It's only been a few minutes, girls…" A beside herself with worry Rita said, as anxious and jumpy as her children. "We'll find him...I'm sure we will…" Just then, Lucy's phone rang in the room she and Lynn shared. The gothic Loud sighed when she heard it.

"Lori...would you be so kind?" she called out, knowing her oldest sister was out there. She couldn't break the connection now, or they may lose any trace of him. The phone savvy sister hastily went to the room and, seeing it was from one of Lucy's friends, answered her cell.

"Hello. Lori speaking. I'm sorry, but this really isn't a good time." She said, not waiting for a response. "We're having something of a family crisis here…"

"Does it involve your brother, Lincoln?" Haiku's voice inquired through the phone.

"...how did you-?"

"I just spoke with him." Haiku cut her off, not wishing to go over specifics with her at the second. Lori's mouth hung open in shock, but before the oldest sister could ask, the short poem enthusiast continued "Let me talk to Lucy. All will be made clear." It took a moment for her instructions to register, but when they did, Lori bolted back to Lana and Lola's room.

"Lucy! Your friend said she just talked to Lincoln!" She declared, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

"What!?" Most of the family exclaimed, with even Lucy looking surprised.

"...put her on speaker, please." Lucy said, trying to keep her focus on the ball. "Hello?"

"Hello, Lucy. It's Haiku. I just spoke with your brother…"

"You did? Where was he?" The gothic Loud asked desperately.

":He was in a realm beyond life and the afterlife. A place where lost souls are drawn to wander until they are spent and destroyed. A place...called Gregory House."

"Gregory House? Isn't he a doctor on tv?" Leni inquired in confusion.

"How do you know he's there?" Rita asked, kneeling closer to the phone, not paying Leni's comment any mind, just like Leni's siblings.

"I was there." Haiku replied simply. "I spoke to him in person a few hours ago."

"A few hours ago? But Lincoln's only been out just about an hour." Lana interject with a frown.

"In reality, yes. However, time passes much differently in Gregory House. In that world, Lincoln's been there a few days already." The Loud Mother gasped softly while Lucy looked more distressed.

"How can I find him in there, Haiku?" Her younger friend asked.

"...before I answer that, I have a question of my own."

"...go ahead."

"The common cause of living souls to end up at Gregory House is a result of them giving up on reality…" The Loud family flinched when they heard that, looking at one another with expressions of guilt and concern. "...and the fact that Lincoln ended up there, not of his own choice, concerns me greatly. Tell me...do you have any idea what could drive someone like him to that point?" And now an unhealthy dose of fear was added to the mix. Apart from Lily and Lucy, all siblings present and both parents were sweating bullets, all of them wondering if they should even tell her about what happened.

"Well...she does know where Lincoln is…" Leni reasoned quietly as the whole family (except for Lynn, Lily and Lucy) got into a huddle to discuss the matter.

"It's none of her business." Lola retorted in a whisper.

"But...what if she won't tell us about Lincoln…" Lana inquired, tears starting to fill her eyes.

"Well...Lucy can find him still...right?" Lori added, though not so sure herself.

"Not to be the bearer of bad news…" Lisa butted in regretfully. "...but if Lucy is having this much trouble finding him, even with his most cherished toy, I suspect the odds of her finding our lost brother on her own is quite slim…"

"But what's going to happen when we tell her…?" Lynn Sr pointed out fearfully.

"Father brings up a good point. What happened could very well put us in significant trouble with the law…" The genius toddler said. While the family was debating on the issue, Lucy looked down at her phone. She swore to do what it took to find her brother...now was the time to make good on that.

"...I'll tell you, Haiku." Lucy said, which caused all conversation in the room to come to a screeching halt. "But I must ask you to please...don't judge us too harshly for what I am about to tell you…"

"...I make no promises." The fellow member of the Young Mortician's club said, having a feeling she wasn't going to like what she heard.

* * *

"Ouch...oh...my poor aching everything…" Gregory groaned as he limped out of the basement. He was singed, dripping wet, bruised and had a chunk missing out of both of his ears, but he was alive at least. "That little brat...the next time I see him, I'll teach him a lesson he won't soon forget…" He growled in anger. "Mr Loud could have been killed in that death trap of a game...lucky for both of us he-"

"GREEEEEEGORY!" A voice bellowed throughout the house, causing the elderly rat to quake in his boots.

"M...Momma! Oh no...what could she want!?" He asked fearfully as a grabbing claw reached down from above and clamped onto his head. He squirmed, struggled and squeaked in dread as he was lifted from the ground and carried off deep into the hotel. Less than a minute later, he was unceremoniously deposited in a dark, foreboding room that look like it belonged to a witch. There were several book shelves of nothing but bottles with little glowing wisps within them. Taking up the only bit of the room that could be seen with the dim light was a throne like chair in front of a massive vanity mirror, the desk surface covered with cosmetics. Sitting upon this throne was a middle aged rat woman in a flowing black dress with a bone necklace, complete with a tiny mouse skull. One eye was kind of squinting, like Gregory's, and she had a lipstick mark on her cheek and ear. Her hair was long, blonde and rather ratty. To her right was a staff topped with a skull. She leered down at the cowering old rodent with nothing less than contempt. "Sweet Momma! Young Momma! Forgiving Momma!" Gregory pleaded, on his hands and knees. "What did I do!?"

"Stop your blubbering, Gregory!" She snapped furiously, causing her son to cringe. "My goodness, you are pathetic. You aren't here for something you did. It's for what you've failed to do! Namely, bringing me the soul of that young man."

"M...Mr Loud's soul? But, Momma...you know these things take time...taking the soul too soon and it won't have as much effect…" Gregory stammered, looking up at his mother from his place on the floor.

"I am aware of that! I am not devoid of brains, unlike you!" She said cruelly, striking him upon the head with her staff. "But I recall you saying this would be easy...he's so weighed down with pain, misery and his own sins that his soul should ready in, and I quote, NO TIME."

"Er...yes, I did say that...but I didn't realize just how much punishment this kid could take...but don't you fret. I have a plan to break him…"

"I am tired of waiting for you to do something right. It seems clear to me that I need to take matters into my own hands." Momma declared, rising from her seat.

"What? Momma, that's not necessary…" Gregory said, getting to his own feet. "I have the situation well in hand…"

"Oh sure...like you had Steve Haniwa well in hand…"

"He came back!" Gregory exclaimed, sounding upset. "And besides, I have an ace up my sleeve."

"The only thing you have up your sleeve is fleas!" Momma screamed back at him.

"Oh, like you could do any better!" The old hotel owner shouted before he could stop himself. "Mr Loud is far more clever than you give him credit for. He'd outwit you in a second!" The moment he said that, he quickly covered his mouth in terror. He thought he crossed the line. His mother would surely skin him alive for that. However, she had a calculating look on her face, then she smirked.

"You really think so, Gregory?" She asked him. "...would you be willing to put your money where your mouth is for a change?"

"...excuse me?" The mouse of a man asked, hardly able to believe his ears.

"A little wager. The one who causes the young man's spirit to break first wins." She explained to him. "Winner gets bragging rights."

"Hmmm. And the loser…?" Gregory inquired apprehensively.

"Hmmm. If I lose...I have to surrender the most precious item from my secret stock of cheese." She said in a tone devoid of concern. Gregory started drooling when he thought about the possibly delicious chunk of vintage cheese. "But if you lose...you will spend the next two weeks in that jar!" She pointed to a tiny glass container with a stopper topped with mouse ears. "Your soul on the shelf with the others, for two weeks...how confident do you feel now, Gregory?" The elderly rodent looked to the jar for a moment, the gears turning in his head. Being stuck in that jar would be utter torture...but there was no way he could get stuck in there. He'd have Lincoln's soul ready for her in no time...for real this time.

"You're on. Prepare to give up that cheese, Momma. His soul will be yours before the end of tomorrow!" Gregory declared with confidence before he ran out of the room. Momma simply watched him leave with a chuckle.

"...no matter which way it goes, I win...and all it might cost me is a piece of cheese…" She said before she gave a soft cackle. "...as if."

* * *

There was absolute silence in the room as Lucy finished the story to Haiku, the tension so thick it would have taken a hacksaw to cut through it. Though no one could see her face, they could almost feel the anger radiating through the phone. The gothic Loud had told her everything...at least, everything she was aware of. She didn't tell her about Lynn threatening him, but what she had said...it was more than enough. "So...let me get this straight. Your family...the entire family...considered him bad luck on the word of one, ostracized him, and then cast him from the house with nothing...all because of BAD LUCK?"

"...well, Lincoln did try and tell us he was faking it…" Leni said meekly, then winced as if the goth on the other side of the phone gave her the evil eye (which she would have if she knew where she was).

"That...is quite accurate, Miss Haiku." Lisa intervened, looking calm, but a bundle of nerves on the inside.

"...You are all a bunch of idiots." She told them with calm, cold fury. "This explains why he ended up in Gregory House...and somewhat explains why he didn't want to tell me what happened there…"

"He didn't?" Luna asked quietly, looking to the older of the sisters around her in surprise.

"I imagine it's because he didn't want you to get in trouble...but I think trouble is exactly what you deserve…" She told them all. "...I have half a mind to call the police on all of you.." She continued, everyone present in the room (And Lynn listening in out in the hall) hanging their head in shame. "...I would think Lincoln would be better off at Gregory House…" The moment she said that, Lola, Lana and Leni all burst out crying, falling to their knees and pleaded desperately and loudly with Haiku. Their pleas were garbled and muddled from the fact they were all blubbering together. It was then Lynn stepped into the room, her eyes filled with tears as she strode right up to Lucy's phone.

"You listen to me, Haiku…" Lynn started in an aggressive tone, but that aggression faded quickly as she sat down before the device. "...if you're going to blame anyone, blame me...this was all my fault anyway." She admitted sadly. "I was the one who forced him to come to my game...I called him bad luck...I pushed it onto the family...it was all me."

"First of all, it may have been you who spearheaded this, they still went along with it. Not one of them stopped to think this was utterly stupid, even the supposed genius…" Haiku retaliated.

"...ok. ok...we deserve to be punished...especially me...but I think you can agree Lincoln doesn't…" Lynn interrupted her. "...we're trying to find him and help bring him home...even if he hates us for life when he comes back."

"...will one of you let me finish a thought…?" She inquired, angry but still speaking in a calm monotone.

"...sorry."

"...better. Now, as I was ABOUT to say...I would think Lincoln would be better off at Gregory House...but I know better. I've been there often enough to know what it can do to someone, and Lincoln is the absolute last person who deserves that." She continued. It was here she paused a moment to consider her next move. No matter what she said, she had some serious bad news for them. The question was how seriously bad should it be. After a tense, awkward silence, she proceeded. "...against my better judgement, I will keep this incident to myself…" She said. "...as it appears most of you are showing some form of regret for what you did, and a willingness to try and assist Lincoln...but I will be keeping a close eye on all of you. If I hear a repeat of this story, I'll show you all what real bad luck is…" She threatened them in a low, dangerous tone, making even Lucy shiver in her little shoes. "That said, I have some bad news for you all…"

"Worse than that…?" Leni asked shakily.

"Much. I'm afraid there's nothing any of you can do to help him."

"WHAT!?" Lynn snapped, her fists going into the rug hard.

"What do you mean?": Lucy asked, dreading the answer.

"Outside interference is near impossible for someone inside the hotel of lost souls. Unless you go directly into their world, the most you can do is view him through Lucy's crystal ball and HOPE he can hear you."

"You said you spoke to him in person there, right?" Luan piped up. "Couldn't you tell us how to do that, so we can go help him?"

"To answer your first question, yes, I can. I did a lot of research to find a way to safely enter and exit the world, with safeguards to keep my soul safe. If things don't go right, I could end up like all the others there...which leads me to the answer of your second question: I could, but I will not." She paused for a moment to let the Loud children all yell their objections to her before she spoke up again. "I will not, because with the weight of all of your sins, your souls would get trapped there as well; and though I think most of you would deserve it...I doubt that is what Lincoln would want. So, unless one of you thinks there is one who is unburdened among you, there is nothing I feel comfortable doing." There is, once more, absolute silence among the Louds. The two adults and ten children all looked to one another for a moment before they all looked to Lily, probably the only one there who was completely innocent. That was entirely out of the question, so the thought never even crossed their mind.

"So, there's nothing we can do?" A distraught Rita asked, wringing her hands with worry.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Loud. I really am. But it's all up to Lincoln now. I've pointed him in the right direction, though. Whether he takes that path is his decision."

"...thank you, Haiku." Lucy said, in a voice more dreary than usual.

"I'll want to talk to you in private later, Lucy." Haiku replied sternly to her. "I will keep in touch if I have an update on your brother's well being. Good bye." It was then she hung up on them, leaving a somber air in her wake. Lynn just slumped in place, while their parents embraced once more, their concern at an all time high. Hearing what the occult enthusiast said was really a spirit breaker for them all, leaving them with a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. It even affected Lily, who caught on to the sad atmosphere. That didn't stop Lucy, however, as she returned to her work on the crystal ball.

"Lucy? What are you doing? Haiku just said-" Lana started to say.

"I know what Haiku said...but even if we cannot help him physically, we can at least be there for him in spirit." Lucy replied, still working on her crystal ball. "It may not seem like much...maybe nothing at all...but it's what we can do." She added, waving her hands over the sphere. "And I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm darn well not going to sit around and do nothing when there's something I can do."


	20. Chapter 20: Painful Memories pt 2

Painful Memories pt 2

"**Playing along with Gregory; I knew it wouldn't be easy, but it had to be done. Little did I know just how much it could possibly hurt…"**

The white haired boy wasn't entirely sure where to go from here, despite knowing he needed to scram. However, thanks to Haiku, he knew who to ask: ergo, he needed to find Neko Zombie. He was headed for the stairs to the upper guest rooms when he heard some music. Oddly upbeat music. It sounded so out of place here. Against his better judgement, he followed his ears away from the stairs, past the dining room and down the hall. The passage soon opened up into a modestly sized bar. A third of the room was taken up by the bar itself: the counter, the drink and glasses shelves, and the stools. Opposite the bar were a few tables and chairs, currently empty. The source of the music was on the other side of the room from Lincoln; a pristine jukebox, playing a cheery tune. Behind the bar, cleaning a few martini glasses, was Gregory himself. "Oh, good afternoon, Mr Loud."

"Hello, Gregory. Good to see you made it through the game ok." Lincoln replied, glancing around the room from the entrance.

"Barely...but yes. I'm sooo sorry about that, by the way. My grandson isn't usually like that."

'Shenanigans.' The middle loud thought. What he said, however, was "Don't worry about it, Gregory. Er...I think I should go. I don't think I'm old enough to be here."

"Oh, don't fret, my friend. We have a wide variety of non-alcoholic drinks available as well. Come on over, and name your poison." The young man was skeptical and wary, but it was recommended he play along with the elderly hotel owner. Besides, he was feeling kind of thirsty, so he walked up to the bar and planted himself on one of the stools.

"Don't suppose you have root beer?" He asked, though he had his doubts.

"Ah. Closest to the real thing without getting IDed, eh?" The rat man joked with a chuckle, pulling a bottle of soda from under the counter and placing it and a bottle opener before the young man.

"Thanks." Lincoln replied as he opened the bottle, the satisfying hiss of a freshly opening pop filling his ears.

"So, Lincoln...any progress on your amnesia?"

"A little bit. I've remembered bits and pieces about my family and friends...still kinda lost on where I came from though. No pun intended." The one son replied.

"Well, at least you are getting some of your memories back...not that I'm pushing you to leave, mind you." Gregory said as he started to wipe down the counter. "You can stay as long as you like. I was just getting concerned."

'I'll bet…' The human boy thought to himself as he took a deep drink of soda. "Do you usually get much business here? At the bar, I mean."

"A fair amount, yes." The old rodent replied with a nod. "Clock Master is here every night, and the mummy fellow sometimes has a night cap to take the edge off." He took a moment to chuckle a bit before he continued. "And then there's that annoying 'musician'...I swear, if he didn't buy the most expensive drink in the house every time just to look as pretentious as he acted, I'd ban him."

"What's wrong with him?"

"He goes on and on like he's some kind of musical genius, but he's so stuck in the past...plus, he's a music snob plain and simple."

"Yeah, I could see what that could get under your skin." Lincoln said, about half way done with his drink. It was then that a ghostly, skeletal fish with a television for a face swam through the wall and into the bar. The one son only saw it from the corner of his eye, but when he saw it, he did a double take just to make sure he really saw it. While his attention was off the mouse behind the bar, Gregory smirked, picking up a remote control under the counter. The fish simply swam around the room for a moment before it stopped in front of the human boy. The two locked eyes for a moment before static filled the tv screen.

"In….kin." An infant's voice said. Lincoln's jaw dropped.

"Was that…?" He asked out loud, just as the image came in. It was Lily, and she was looking right at him.

"Inkin. Inkin." She said cheerfully. A slight smile appeared on Lincoln's face. Then, the channel seemed to change. This time, it was Luna's face on screen.

"Hey bro. Got a moment for a jam sesh?" She asked him with a grin, the neck of her guitar visible. Leni's face soon replaced Luna's.

"Awwww. That is totes sweet. Thank you, Linky!" Lincoln stood up from his stool, looking closer into the screen.

'Time to change the channel, I think.' Gregory thought, snickering as he pushed a button on the remote.

"Get out of my room, twerp!" Lori suddenly snapped, her scowling face replacing Leni's. The sudden shock caused the one son to recoil back, nearly falling on his backside. Then, he saw Luna again, only this time she looked angry at him, blasting him out of her room with her guitar and subwoofer. The one son winced, remembering that moment. What followed was April Fools day, where Lincoln triggered all of Luan's traps around the house, with her making jokes all the while. All because she called Ronnie Anne over to lure him out. The memories started to move faster now. Lola blackmailing him after eavesdropping on his secrets. Being beaten up by all of his sisters over a few cents. The battle over the 'Sweet Spot'. The Sister Fight Protocol. Being accused of clogging the toilet. Lincoln was forced to look away from the screen, unable to watch any more. However, he could still hear, and the next thing he heard sent a chill down his spine and a sharp pain into his head.

"Stay back! You're bad luck!" He turned back to see the brown haired girl in red and white from before, storming toward him with an angry look as she rationalized her belief to him. Then, she went on to convince Leni he was bad luck as well. The longer he watched, the more his head hurt...but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen. He just kept watching as she refuted his confession of faking being a jinx, all because her team was winning their games. His head felt like it was starting to split at this point, the young man putting both hands on his head as he grit his teeth.

"Oh my...that is just terrible...are you alright, my friend?" Gregory asked, feigning concern for the child.

"...L...Lynn…" He growled through the pain, as he finally remembered his last sister...through what was unfortunately his worst memory of her. "Lynn is her name...she's the one who started it all…"

"Oh dear...should I go get Catherine?"

"No!" Lincoln squeaked, before he recovered and said, in a normal voice. "No. I'm fine. Just...a quick headache." He lied.

"Well, I think she should still have a look…"

"I'll be fine, Gregory. Don't worry about me." He repeated, taking a moment to down the rest of his drink. He was about to bid the rat man goodbye, but he was interrupted by a loud blech.

"Oh. That was a good one." The hotel owner complimented, the human lad blushing a bit.

"Heh...excuse me." He said. "And on that note, I should head back to my room. I'll see you later, Gregory."

"Of course, Mr Loud. Rest well." The rodent said as he took the empty bottle from the bar, thinking he would send Catherine his way anyway...if only to soften him up. Lincoln made tracks from the bar, still sore in the head and hot under the collar. Seeing those moments in the TV Fish and remembering Lynn embittered him to his family even more than before. However, it didn't deter him from his objective: escape. He had already determined that staying home wouldn't be an option, so he was making plans around that. But all the plans in the world wouldn't help him if he didn't get away, so he had to focus on finding Neko Zombie and go from there.


	21. Chapter 21: The Story of Gregory House

_AN: Not the actual story of how Gregory House came to be. More how I imagine it, along with Neko Zombie's relationship with Gregory. Don't think they ever actually go over the actual origin of the hotel in the show, but that wasn't really important to the actual series._

* * *

The Story of Gregory House

**"Gregory House...the more I learn about it, the more terrified I become. What I heard from Neko Zombie didn't make things any better…"**

Sitting in his cell, with a grumbling stomach being the only sound able to be heard from within, Neko Zombie was staring toward the dusty stone floor in almost absolute silence. He wasn't doing much of anything; not even thinking. Being trapped there for as long as he had, he's often found himself with long patches of time where nothing could be done. However, he was a patient feline. Time had no meaning to him or this realm, after all. He just needed to wait. And soon, his patience paid off. His cell door started to creak open. His eyes shifted to the side, thinking it was Gregory or James. Instead, it was Lincoln, holding something behind his back. "Hello, Neko Zombie."

"...I never told you my name." He responded in a raspy voice.

"Haiku told me." The human boy told him, which gained the cat's full attention.

"You know Haiku…?"

"She's a good friend of mine from back home." Lincoln explained as he walked closer, getting down on one knee beside the zombie cat. He growled for a moment, but then his stomach growled louder. The one son looked back at the door to make sure no one was watching, then showed Neko what he had been hiding: a turkey drumstick. "I had a feeling you'd be hungry." He said as the starving feline swiped the leg and tore into it. Within seconds, it was nothing but bone.

"...that's a little better...now, what did you want?" The undead creature inquired after patting his belly.

"...I want to escape from Gregory House." Lincoln told him, getting right to the point.

"...good for you. Have the slightest idea how to do it?"

"Kinda. Haiku gave me some advice, but bits of it were rather vague…"

"That's the very nature of this place. Nothing is straightforward." Neko Zombie explained to the boy. "But the first step to leaving...is really wanting to leave. Do you really want to leave, Lincoln?"

"I do." The white haired lad answered without hesitation.

"Is that so? Why is it that you even came here to begin with?" The cat creature asked. "Surely you didn't end up coming here against your will for no reason."

"I think it was a couple things...but the straw that broke the camel's back came about when my sister Lynn accused me of being bad luck…" The stitched up feline raised an eyebrow when he heard this. Lincoln continued on to tell the story of how he ended up being thrown out of his own room and house by his family, including his own foolish mistake of supporting the belief. With as long as the zombie had been at Gregory House, he had heard it all. Tales of pain, loss, betrayal, jealousy, and tragedy. Nothing could get even the slightest bit of sympathy from him, and this was no exception. It did, however, make him face palm. It was just the dumbest thing he heard, from both sides. He didn't comment, though.

"...what do you plan to do when you return, with that in mind?"

"...Truthfully, I haven't thought it out fully yet. I know I can't return home...they don't want me there." Lincoln answered. "But I am certain that I am not going to stay here and let Gregory do...I don't even want to know...with my soul." This wasn't the answer Neko Zombie wanted to hear, but knowing the young man was serious about leaving...that was the important part.

"That will do...for the only way you can leave is if you really want to." He explained, tossing the turkey bone aside. "Otherwise, leaving is borderline impossible."

"Really?"

"Yes. Living souls, like your own, tend to only come here when they give up on reality. To return, they have to want to. That's the first step."

"What's the next step?"

"Actually finding a way out." Neko Zombie told the one son. "It's, unfortunately, not as easy as just getting out of the hotel."

"Haiku said that most folks who managed to leave from here said the way out was 'right there in front of them the whole time'."

"That is true...but you won't be able to find it yourself. You will need help to find it...and I wouldn't rely on any help you find here…"

"...sounds like a risk I may have to take." Lincoln said with a serious look on his face. "No one said this would be easy…" He rose to his feet and turned to leave, but stopped mid way. "Neko Zombie...how do you know so much about Gregory House?"

"...I've been trapped here a long time...a very long time." The undead cat replied, looking back toward the floor.

"...can you tell me more about this place? Where it came from? How you ended up here?"

"...do you really think you have the time?" Neko asked in an almost scolding tone. However, the white haired boy had already turned around and sat down almost in front of him. "...suit yourself. This whole world was actually created by both Gregory's family and mortals with intense negative emotions...though they were unaware of this. They created it as a gathering place for lost souls, so they can wander long enough to weaken them." The cat creature started to explain, with Lincoln nodding as he listened. So far, it was pretty much the same thing Haiku told him. "Souls are very valuable to Gregory and his family, though each have their own uses for it. I cannot tell you everything they use them for, but I can tell you their primary use is for extended youth and life."

"They use souls to live longer?"

"By consuming them, yes. They have been for millenia, though the creation of the hotel to lure souls was a more recent idea: a couple centuries back."

"That is just twisted…" Lincoln said, wincing.

"It is...it's a terrible crime…" Neko Zombie agreed. "A crime that didn't go unnoticed by the powers that be, Death in particular. He just couldn't let it stand; souls are his responsibility, so he tasked my people with stopping them."

"Why didn't Death do something about them himself?"

"The rules are pretty strict and specific in this case. He is in charge of collecting recently deceased souls, putting souls to rest and bringing them to their final rewards. That was his job and that was all he could do. However, he could enlist help to deal with them, which is where my people came in."

'Hmmm. The battle of cats and rats goes beyond nature…' Lincoln thought to himself.

"In the old days, Gregory needed to go right to the mortal world to get souls, and there were only certain areas where he could cross between whatever plane he came from and reality. And thanks to Death, we knew exactly where we could catch him. For several centuries, my people fought against Gregory's family, severely reducing the amount of souls they could consume."

"Until they created Gregory House?" The middle Loud inquired, the story holding his undivided attention.

"Exactly." Neko Zombie nodded, fiddling with his shackle chain a little. "With the house created, they started to draw souls right to them, and we couldn't do anything about it...until one of us found Gregory House for themselves. We had the ability to strike them right where they lived...but they had grown more powerful in the time it took us to locate them. It was a dangerous prospect, trying to take them on on their turf...but it was a risk I was willing to take. I hid myself within the hotel, striking where I could; freeing lost souls from their grasp and getting living souls to leave. However, I got careless one night...I fell asleep inside the hotel…and Gregory found me…" He placed a hand on one of his stitched up eyes. "He stitched my eyes, ears and mouth himself...and in doing so, he bound me to this world."

"...I'm sorry."

"Save your pity, kid." The undead cat boy said angrily. "I don't want your sympathy. I want you to get away."

"...Right." He said flatly, standing back up. "Can you recommend anyone who might be able to help me?"

"Look around in the basement...you should be able to find someone down there." Neko Zombie answered. "Just watch out for the game room."

"Yeah...been there, done that. Rather not go back." Lincoln said before he turned around one last time. "Thank you, Neko Zombie...if all goes well, I probably won't see you again."

"Suits me." The cat boy responded coldly, though he thought 'Because that means you'd be safe and out of Gregory's reach.'

"...farewell." Lincoln finally said in annoyance, before he walked out of the room, making a plan in his head.

'The kid has a good heart...but here, that can get him killed…' The stitched up feline thought before he returned to his brooding thoughts.


	22. Chapter 22: Crying for Mama

Crying for Mama

"**When. Will. I. Learn!? I fell for the oldest trick in the book. I'm not even a boy scout. What was I thinking!?"**

"Ok. First things first." Lincoln said to himself as he walked with purpose through the dismal halls of Gregory House. "First, I'll head back to my room and get the pop gun Cactus Girl gave me. I have a feeling I'm going to need it…" He continued to monologue. He was just a few doors down when he heard it.

"Aaaaah!" He stopped in his tracks and looked back. It sounded like the scream of an elderly lady in trouble. Without even considering the situation, he turned and ran toward the source of the din. The center of the commotion was an elderly rat woman at the bottom of the stairs, groaning in pain. While the little voice in the back of his mind was telling him to keep moving, Lincoln just couldn't leave her there. He quickly descended the stairs, kneeling beside her.

"Are you alright!?"

"Ugh...yes, dear...just a little sore...I only fell a few steps." The older woman explained as he helped her up. When he got a good look at her face, he was surprised to see she didn't look nearly as elderly as she sounded. In fact, she didn't look a day over forty "Getting up and down these stairs gets more difficult every day."

"Do you need help, ma'am?" He offered to her sympathetically.

"That's very nice of you, young man. Thank you. I just need a little help getting to my room." The woman replied, taking a shaky step upon the first step. "It's about time for my nap."

"...pardon my saying so, but you seem rather young to be...er-"

"Oh ho ho. That's rather sweet of you to say, young man." She said with a soft chortle. "Time has been quite kind to me on the outside, but not so much on the inside. My bones and muscles aren't what they used to be." She explained to him as he helped her upstairs. That made a bit of sense to him. After all, his Pop Pop was pretty much the same way. "What's your name, young man?"

"Lincoln Loud, ma'am." He answered, escorting her down the hall.

"Such a nice name. You can simply call me Mama."

'Mama?' The one son thought to himself, remembering the room he saw earlier and his theory regarding it. "Would you happen to be Gregory's mother?"

"Why yes, I am. How did you guess that?" She asked him, looking surprised he was able to piece that together.

"I guess I could see a certain resemblance." He replied. Mama felt rather insulted when she heard that, but kept it under wraps.

"Well, at any rate, Gregory is a dear boy." She said, sounding like a grandmother speaking about her grandchild. "Though he is a rather...awkward boy."

'Awkward is putting it lightly.' The Loud boy thought to himself.

"So, what brings you to our humble little hotel? Vacationing with family?"

"No, ma'am. I'm...here by myself. It's...it's complicated to explain." He answered, though in reality, he didn't want to discuss it with her. Knowing she was Gregory's mother put the one son on guard. After all, he let his guard down around James, and look what happened. Still, he wasn't about to just let her go and run. He figured he could help her to her door, then beat it. As fate would have it, the moment he thought it was the moment he saw it, though the door was partially opened.

"Hmm? Oh dear...I know I closed that door before I left." Mama said, sounding suspicious and indignant about it. "Someone sneaking into an old lady's room...is nothing sacred!?"

"Calm down, Mama…" Lincoln said, patting her hand in an attempt to ease her temper. "The door probably just didn't close properly and slowly opened on it's own.

"...yes, perhaps...but just to be safe, would you help me make sure there is no one there? I would feel much safer with a brave, strong young man such as yourself by my side." She was buttering him up and he knew it. However, he couldn't help but blush and chuckle a bit.

"I'm not that strong...but I guess I could help real quick."

"Such a good boy." Mama said with a soft smile as she stepped into the darkened room with Lincoln. From the moment he crossed the threshold, he felt a sense of foreboding in the room. All he could see were a pair of shelves to either side of them, filled with glass jars and bottles with little glowing wisps within them. The one son gulped as Mama tapped her foot. Candles flickered to life on the vanity table opposite them. Lincoln couldn't help but compare it to a sacrificial altar, which made him even more nervous. "Hmmm. It appears there is no one here." The mother of Gregory commented as she strode over to the table. "That is a load off my mind."

"Well, I'm glad all is well." The white haired boy said with a nervous smile as he backed toward the door. "And glad to be of help, but I really must be going…" Before he could make his escape, the door shut behind him all by itself. "...shoot."

"What's the hurry, Lincoln?" Mama inquired with a sinister edge to her voice, an evil grin on her face. "We've hardly got to talking." She continued, turning to face him with her skull topped staff in hand. Lincoln gulped nervously, his eyes darting around for something to take the attention off of himself.

"Er...what are these, ma'am?" He asked quickly, pointing toward the jars and bottles. "Fireflies?" She gave a harsh laugh upon hearing that.

"Those are souls, young man." She answered. "An impressive collection, is it not?"

"I…I guess…"

"So many souls, weak, feeble, and almost aged to perfection." She continued, looking up at the towering shelf of souls in bottles. While she was looking at them, the one son was rapidly formulating a plan. "And soon enough, your soul will join them…" She told him, her steely, mad gaze upon the young man. "It's almost a shame, but that's how the world works. Survival of the fittest." Her hair started to flutter as she raised her walking stick. "Any last words?"

"Just one…" He said. It was now or never. "TIMBER!" He shouted as he suddenly shoved the shelf with all his might. It was just barely enough to send it over. Mama screamed as she tried to stop it from falling, but it just put her under it as it came crashing down. Several of the glass containers shattered, sending the trapped souls floating away. He could have swore he heard a 'thank you' as the immortal remains flew off. He didn't have time to dwell on it, though. He had to vacate and fast. He ran for the door, but the door was locked. What's more, he couldn't find any way to unlock it. And if that wasn't enough, Gregory's mother just burst from the fallen shelves, and she was fuming mad.

"You will pay for that!" She bellowed, a fireball forming on the skull atop her staff. The blazing sphere was hurled right at the white haired boy, which he immediately ducked to avoid. The spell struck the door instead, causing the wood to shatter and splinter from the explosion.

"Thank you!" He yelled as he dove out the hole in the door and into the hall. He tried to make tracks down the way, but Mama had blasted her way out of her own room. Before he could get too far, she swung her walking stick, causing a suit of rusted armor ahead of the boy to drop its halberd right in his path.

"Very clever, Mr Loud...but not clever enough." She said in almost as growl as she swooped in right in front of him. "You won't be getting away this time." Lincoln gulped as Mama's eyes became pupiless and she started to chant. He once more looked for a way out. In the distance behind her, James was skipping along, snickering as he plotted his next bit of mischief. However, a few steps after Lincoln saw him, Gregory came barging out of one of the rooms, grabbing his grandson by the ear.

"There you are, you little brat." He growled. This was the opportunity Lincoln was hoping for.

"Gregory! That's no way to treat your grandson!" Lincoln scolded the old rat loudly.

"You don't expect me to believe that old trick, do-" Mama started to ask, but she was interrupted.

"Grandpa! Stop! That hurts!" The little mouse boy cried. This made Mama turn with a fright, seeing her son dragging away her great grandson by the ear.

"Gregory! What do you think you are doing!?" The young looking eldery rat woman screeched as she barreled toward the two of them.

"M...Mama!" Gregory gasped, letting his grandson go. "I was just...he…"

"How dare you treat a child like that!? And your own grandson no less!" She ranted and raged at her son.

"But...he purposely ruined my plan for Mr Loud…"

"What were you doing involving James in your plan!? It's YOUR job, cheese for brains!" SHe yelled, smacking him on the head. "YOU should be preparing Mr Loud for me!" While Gregory was getting lambasted, James took the opportunity to slink away, just like Lincoln.

"Ow! Ow! But he put me through the infernal game…"

"No excuses, Gregory!" She snapped, looking ready to hit him again. "Seriously, you are such a disappointment...can't even handle a damaged child like Mr Loud." She looked toward where her prey was moments ago...and found he was gone. "What!?"

"What'd I tell you…?" He muttered under his breath. "Outwitted in a second…"

"What did you say…?" She asked warningly, glaring at him.

"Uh...I said...the game is still on, then." Gregory stammered in an attempt to recover.

"...so it is...but don't get your hopes up, Gregory. I will find Mr Loud first, and I will have his soul…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Lincoln had made himself scarce, hiding out under the stairs on the ground floor. He peeked out, looking up the stairs. "Whew...that was a close one…"

"You're telling me." The white haired boy jumped in shock, turning around to see James was hiding out with him. "Grandpa was ready to tan my hide. Thanks, Lincoln." The mouse boy told him, looking up at the eleven year old human.

"Uh...no problem." He responded before thinking 'I was more saving my own skin than yours…which I should be more focused on if I'm going to escape with my soul in one piece.'

"See you around, Lincoln." James said, skipping off into the dimly lit halls, leaving the one son by himself.

'Ok...Neko Zombie said my best bet would be to check the basement. Better hurry, now that Gregory and his mother are after me…' He pondered. He took one last look upstairs, listened for a moment, then moved quickly and quietly for the stairs to the catacombs.


	23. Chapter 23: Judgement Factory

Judgement Factory

**"I thought one Judgement Boy was enough. Imagine my surprise when I found there were more of him...as well as a much bigger one…"**

It didn't take Lincoln long to regret coming to the basement by himself. It was quite dark down there, even more than the rest of the hotel, as there were hardly any candles there. He didn't really notice before when he came down with James, but he had noticed it now. 'I wish I could have gotten to Cactus Girl's pistol before I got down here…' Lincoln wondered in his own head. '...but with Gregory and Mama looking for me up there, I need to lay low while I find a way out.' The one son wasn't sure how long he spent wandering the basement; but he also didn't really care. He still didn't even know of time even passed in this world. What did bother him was that he didn't know where he was going. Not only was it dark down here, it was a varitible maze. Mostly just the same grimy, stone walls. He was starting to wonder if he had made a mistake as he wandered through the darkened catacombs. Then, after several minutes of almost blind meandering, the one son came across a door against the left wall. A simple wooden door with an iron handle on it, with metal letters set upon it. He couldn't read what it said, but it was the only door he had found so far, so he decided to try it. He wasn't fool enough to barge in though, so he cautiously opened it a little and peeked inside. What he saw was FAR from what he expected. Inside were a series of conveyor belts, with glowing gold dollar signs and pink hearts rolling along them. A group of small, robed creatures were working the belts, checking each of the crystalline objects and moving them along to large bins.

Lincoln's mouth hung open as he stepped into the chamber, awestruck at what he saw. Not long after he entered, the door slammed shut behind him, making the human boy jump. Then, from high above, Judgement Boy descended down quickly, coming to a sudden stop a couple feet from the stony ground. Sudden enough to shake the cages on the end of his chains. "Do you know…" He started, when a second one suddenly appeared beside and slightly behind him. The two looked EXACTLY alike, except the second one had the number 2 on his shirt.

"...who we are?" The second living scale asked. A third and fourth Judgement Boy suddenly dropped down, each one asking the same question as the first two. The white haired boy felt a little worried, which only escalated when a big, booming voice sounded within the room.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?" He asked loudly as the biggest Judgement Boy slowly lowered himself into view. He was massive, and made entirely out of gold by the look of it. Otherwise, he looked just like the others of his kind.

"Judgement boy gold!" The four anthropomorphic scales all chanted it at once.

"Are you prepared, Lincoln Loud!?" The golden being inquired, staring down at the young man.

"P...prepared? For what?"

"For the ultimate judgement!" His voice boomed, which was followed by his four fellows reciting "ultimate" and "judgement".

"The...ultimate judgement?" Lincoln asked, staring up at the Judgement Boy Gold. What did he mean by that? 'Well, if it's like what the original Judgement Boy did earlier...it shouldn't be bad, right?' He thought to himself, before he said. "...I guess."

"Very well…" He said, before just staring at him for a moment. Then, he started: "Your sister has done something terribly wrong to you. Something that has had a deep impact not just on the two of you, but the entire family."

'...I know what he's getting at here.' Lincoln thought to himself.

"After being confronted with her terrible deed, she falls to her knees, begging you for forgiveness. Do you forgive her, Lincoln Loud? Do you forgive her, or do you tell her that her crime is completely unforgivable?" Absolute silence filled the room, as even the belts stopped and the little robed workers ceased their tasks to watch and listen. The one son wasn't sure he heard the living creature of gold correctly. Was he seriously asking that!? Was that even a question!? "Take your time. This is not a choice to be made lightly." Judgement Boy Gold added, showing he was quite serious. "As it could seriously affect your life, hers and your family's lives for years to come." Then, silence again.

'Ok...first of all, Lynn begging? This block head doesn't know Lynn…' He thought to himself, a slight throbbing in his head after thinking of her. 'And second...how could he think I would forgive her!? I know I was stupid to encourage the lie that I was bad luck, but she started the whole thing.' He pondered angrily. 'Not only that, but she escalated things to the point where no one in the family wanted anything to do with me! Then no one even wanted me in the damn house! I ended up sleeping outside because of her! I ended up HERE because of HER!' He mentally raged inside his head, with the group of scale like folk waiting patiently for his answer. 'How could I ever forgive her for it? Why would I ever forgive her for it!?' His face was red as his anger built up the more he thought about it, but then...it started to fade. '...because she's my sister...I mean, I'm no saint myself. I've screwed up my fair share of times, sometimes majorly, but my sisters forgave me every time.' He slowly looked up at the golden judger of decisions. "I would forgive my sister...eventually." He answered. "For what she did, it would take me time to fully forgive her...but I would still do it."

"So you say. Let us consult the balance of truth. Judgement..." The giant judge declared before he started to spin. His sheer size, weight and power was enough to shake the entire room, causing some of the workers to fall from their workplaces and a few of the sign and heart objects fell to the ground and shattered. The four other Judgement Boys soon joined in as they swung and shook in the turmoil "...NOW!". Just then, Judgement Boy Gold suddenly came to a stop, the giant heart falling from its cage, putting a hole in the floor. Once he had finished, JB one had stopped, and also dropped the glowing pink heart, causing it to shatter on the hard floor. The same happened with two and three. The one son had a feeling he knew what that meant, watching as the fourth of the Judgement Boys came to a stop. Just as the cage holding the crystalline heart opened, Lincoln sprang forward and, with a dive and a slide, caught the glowing pink heart before it could break against the ground.

"You refuse to forgive your sister." The jumbo sized golden judge stated, his grin never faltering. "No one blames you for it. They don't forgive her either. As a result, your sister falls into a deep depression. One she will never recover. It was your choice. YOU have to live with it." He told the human boy with a hint of finality in his tone.

"No." Lincoln replied, which caused the four lookalike JB's to gasp in shock. "No. You're wrong. I would forgive her. Just not immediately."

"The balance of truth is never wrong." The gilded living scale creature explained.

"It's one thing if you're judging a decision of the past. However, this is a decision of the future, and the future isn't set in stone." Lincoln responded with a frown, holding the glowing heart in his hands. The giant being's golden grin grew slightly.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes…" The young man said firmly, tucking the saved object under his arm and storming out of the room, under the ten eyes of the Judgement Boys.

"...He is strong willed." Judgement Boy Gold commented. "Planning to walk his own path. I could see it within him. The question is, however...is his will strong enough to back it up?"

* * *

"Hmph. Who does that gold plated goon think he is!?" The one son asked in outrage. He was storming through the corridors of the basement, his temper fueling him like a steam engine. The heart in his hand illuminated his path with a soft pink light, giving him a slightly better idea of where he was going. "Saying I wouldn't forgive Lynn…"

'Well, will you?' A little voice in his head asked him.

"Of course I will." He responded "...not right away, of course, but in time."

'Are you sure about that?' The inner voice inquired, sounding a lot like the Golden Judgement Boy. 'Even when she'll force you to live outside again? When she'll treat you like a leper? Just like the rest of the family…' Lincoln was silent for a moment as he paused in his tracks, looking down at the crystal object in his hand. The light within pulsed somewhat, almost like it were a real beating heart.

"...I'll worry about that when I get there." Lincoln decided, shaking his head. "I can't get too distracted. I have to get out of here." He held the heart out to light the path so he could continue on his way. "I'm glad I managed to save this." He told himself.

"Four hearts broken. One heart saved." The voice of the Frog Fortuneteller rang in his head as the memory of her reading returned to him.

"...wait. Was this what she meant?" He wondered out loud. "A chance encounter...and I ran into Haiku. One heart saved...I saved this...does that mean I'll really join with the forces of evil...?"


	24. Chapter 24: Two Sides

Two Sides

**"Neko Zombie said someone down here could help me...but can I really trust anyone I meet in this place?...can I even trust him?"**

Once more, the one son was a lone wanderer in the dark of Gregory House's basement, with no idea where he was going. However, he was driven by pure determination to keep going (though most of that determination was to prove JB Gold wrong), so on he went. For nearly an hour he strode forth, turning corners, hitting dead ends and retracing his steps. Just when his steam was starting to fade, he found it: another door. Could this be it? He quickly approached the egress, holding the glowing heart up to it. It was labeled 01. A room number. He put the heart away before he knocked, hoping someone was in...and friendly. "Just a minute~" A sing song sort of voice responded. Sounded promising. A few seconds later, a small, angelic dog girl appeared in a soft burst of light. She was carrying a little star wand, had a little halo over her head and wore a pure white dress. "Oh my. A living soul."

"Hello ma'am." Lincoln responded politely. "My name is Lincoln. My friend, Neko Zombie, said you might be able to help me."

"Neko? Goodness, are you trying to escape?" She asked in a tone of great concern. The young man nodded. "Well, if that's what you want, you've come to the right gal." She said with a smile, raising her wand.

"Hold up." Lincoln stopped her, holding up his hands. She paused in the act, looking questioningly at him. "There's a few things I need to take care of before I go. Is there someplace we can meet later?"

"Things you need to take care of? Well, I can't imagine what they could be...but if it's that important, then I guess so. Meet me outside, in the cemetery outside the hotel in about three hours."

"Three hours?"

"I'm meeting with TV Fish in about an hour, so I can watch the soccer matches." She explained to him. "Wonderful game. But that should give you plenty of time to take care of any business you have to upstairs."

"Thank you, miss." Lincoln said with an appreciative smile. "Er...do you happen to know the way out of the basement?"

"Oh. A little lost as well, hmm?" She turned to his right and flicked her magic wand. A ladder leading up faded into existence. "Up you go, Lincoln."

"Thank you again." He said, scaling the ladder like a spider monkey. "See you in three hours."

"See you." She chirped in reply. The moment he was gone, a puff of smoke surrounded her as she made a very drastic change: she turned from an angelic dog into something more fiendish, with a purple flowing gown, bat like wings, and carrying a black pitchfork. "...if you survive. Hehehehe." After about a minute of climb, the one son found himself emerging within the very cemetery the two planned to meet later.

* * *

Back at the Loud House, most of the family were trying to relax and go about their day. Given the fact the only one who could do even the slightest thing to help their brother was Lucy, none of them thought there was much point to just standing around Lola and Lana's room like bumps on a log. However, no one really felt like doing anything. Lori was sitting on her bed, her phone on the bedside table beside her, her arms wrapped around her knees. Luan and Leni tried watching tv, but neither were really paying attention. Lynn Sr was working on dinner, but his heart wasn't into cooking. Luna had her guitar out, but she couldn't even bring herself to play a note. The only one who wasn't even trying was Lynn Jr, who was the only one sitting in the same room as the little goth, sitting by her comatose brother. She couldn't bring herself to do anything else, her mind plaguing her with her guilt; and seeing her brother laying almost lifelessly beside her wasn't helping. However, she couldn't pull herself away. A part of her thought she had no right trying to have any kind of fun while her brother's soul is who knows where. 'This is all your fault…' She thought to herself, closing her eyes as she hung her head. 'If you hadn't been so damn selfish, stubborn and stupid, your brother wouldn't be practically dead…' Tears started to leak out from her eyelids. 'Lincoln, if you ever come back, I swear I'll never force you to come to one of my games again...I'll never force you to play sports with me...to fight and wrestle with me...hell, I'd give up all sports if it'd bring you back…' She was about to start sobbing again, but her chance to cry was interrupted by the sound of soft static. It snapped Lynn out of her thoughts and Lucy out of her focus. Her crystal ball seemed to be getting a picture.

"...something's happening…" Lucy said weakly. She had been focusing on trying to get a visual on Lincoln for the last hour. To the casual observer, it looked like she was just sitting there and staring at the glass orb. However, she was putting a lot of her spirit into this task, and it was starting to take its toll on her by now. Yet it seemed like the effort was worth it. The static started to fade, before showing an image of the white haired boy emerging from a hole in the ground in a graveyard.

"Lucy! You did it!" The sporty sister exclaimed, smiling brightly. "Everyone! Lucy found Lincoln!" There was a brief stampede up the stairs as the entire Loud family stormed into Lola and Lana's room, crowding around the crystal ball.

"She's right! There he is!" Lori declared, pointing him out as he dusted himself off. He looked in pretty rough shape. His clothes were dirty and torn in places, he had a few visible bruises on him and his hair was a complete mess.

"Dude...he looks like he got into a nasty fight…" Luna said, her concern growing.

"Yeah...but it looks like he won." The little mechanic interjected.

"Sure, but he looks to be in a 'grave' situation now. Hahahaha!" Luan quipped, though she was the only one to laugh. Just then, Lucy started to fall to one side, unable to sit up any longer. Leni gasped and quickly caught her before she could flop on the floor.

"Lucy!?" Their mother gasped.

"...I'm fine…" The young goth said. "Just...just tired."

"Leni, take her to her room so she can rest…"

"But...doesn't she need to keep the crystal on Lincoln?" The little pageant princess asked in concern.

"No...now that I've got a lock on him, the crystal ball will follow him wherever he goes." Lucy explained. "...even if he goes back into Gregory House...in theory."

"That settles it then. Leni." The big hearted teen nodded in reply to her mother before taking Lucy back to her and Lynn's room. The rest of the family (minus Lynn Sr who had to rush back down to avoid burning dinner) stared intently at the sphere. It wasn't much, in essence, but seeing that Lincoln was alright (or at the very least alive), was a major relief to them. It was a step in the right direction.

"Alright…" Lincoln said to himself as he turned his head, the image shifting to show the hotel of lost souls itself. "...just need to get back in there, get Cactus Girl's gun, say my goodbyes, and then I can get out of here."

"D...Did you hear that!?" Lynn Jr asked.

"He's trying to escape from that place!" The oldest sister answered.

"That's a relief…" Rita said, a smile returning to her face for the first time in a while.

"Who's this Cactus Girl?" Lola inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Probably a friend he met." Lana suggested.

"A safe assumption. A nickname, I imagine." Lisa reasoned, stroking her chin.

"Considering what Haiku said about that place, it's nice to know Lincoln can find a friend there." The Loud mother said. Before Lincoln could make a move, they all heard some strange music coming from away from Gregory House. A haunting, classical tune...not an especially good one in Luna's opinion, but still a tune. Unable to curb his curiosity (in spite of how many times it got him in trouble), the one son decided to go check it out. What he didn't notice was that he wasn't the only one heading that way: a small, shadowy shape was following him.


	25. Chapter 25: Record Breaking

_AN: Since the Loud Family are witnessing the events occuring in Gregory's world, I've decided to try something a little different. Rather than putting a line break between every moment in which one of the Louds speaks up, I'll underline the moments in which they interject. Let me know what you think: does it work ok? Does it help the flow, or hinder it?_

* * *

Record Breaking

"**I followed my ears to find out where that music was coming from. I just hope I don't end up facing the music for it."**

The middle Loud didn't have to go far to find the source of the music. Standing atop a mausoleum, trying to shoo away a murder of crows harrassing him, was a man with a record player for a head. He was wearing a dark blue conductor's outfit and carrying a baton, which he was swinging at the birds. "Away with you! Away!" He yelled, the music being interrupted. The yelling seemed to have sent the pesky avians away. Or perhaps it was Lincoln's presence. It was hard to say. "Oh, whoa is me…" The man moaned in a manner the human boy could only call melodramatic. "I put my blood, sweat and tears into this melody...worked until my fingers bled to write the score...my very soul went into creating my masterpiece...but alas, no one wishes to hear it. Not even the birds…"

"Ugh. What a drama queen…" Lola commented with disgust, rolling her eyes as she ignored the looks all of her sisters were giving her.

"...if only I could get one person to listen...someone who can appreciate good music…" He continued to lament. Lincoln's first instinct was to walk away; he hadn't forgotten what happened practically every time he helped someone so far. Yet, he felt some sympathy for the depressed composer. He walked up to a small tombstone and sat down upon it, looking up at the conductor. The man with the record player head turned to continue his moaning and suddenly noticed the young man. "Where did you come from…?" He asked in surprise.

"The house." Lincoln said vaguely. "I heard your music."

"You...heard my music? You'd like to hear more?" He asked, hope filling his voice. Lincoln nodded in reply. "Oh joyous day!" He cheered right before he cleared his throat. He then started to sing as if he were at the opera. As he did, a sad piano sonnet started to play around them. Lincoln may not have been as musically talented as Luna, but he knew what good music was...and this wasn't it.

"What do you think, Luna?" Leni asked, looking into the rocket's frowning face.

"Dull, derivative, and soulless…" she critiqued. "It's like he just copied Mozart and put nothing of his own in."

The one son was starting to lose interest in the impromptu concert, but before he could make a move, his vision started to go black.

"Lincoln! Get out of there!" A voice cried out, but it was too late. Everything grew dark to Lincoln, with the image fading on the crystal ball. This didn't last long, however, for the vision returned, giving the Loud's a bird's eye view of a smooth, black valley, where the lost brother was sitting in the center of it.

"What just happened?" Rita asked in concern.

"Where'd Lincoln go to?" Lana asked. She was able to see him, but couldn't figure out where he had been sent.

"And why is the music still playing?" Lori inquired. "I can't see that conductor guy…"

"Where...where am I?" The one son wondered aloud as he slowly stood up. There was something strange about the towering, smooth walls to either side of him. He gingerly placed his hand upon the right side wall. "...vinyl?" Just then, he heard a scraping sound; like sharp metal being dragged along asphalt. It was low, but it was growing in volume quickly. He slowly looked behind himself. Whatever it was, it sounded like it was coming right for him. 'Run!' He thought to himself before he bolted in the opposite direction. It was a good thing he did too, because a sharp metal blade was headed right for him, causing sparks as it scraped along the floor.

The Loud sisters screamed, while Rita and Lynn Sr gasped. "W...what is that thing!?" The horrified Loud father asked.

"It looks like...a giant record needle!?" Luna answered in shock.

"Linky's trapped in a giant record!?" Leni nearlly screamed.

"Actually, that seems highly likely…" Lisa commented, frowning as she watched the scene unfolded. "...and given how fast the needle is travelling, and how sharp it seems...if it reaches our brother, it will likely slice him in half...approximately…"

"What gives!?" Lincoln shouted out as he fled for his life from the needle.

"This is for all those who lack the taste to appreciate my genius!" The Poor Conductor declared, his voice ringing all around him. "For the philistines who refuse to even listen to my art!"

"But I was listening! I sat down and gave you a chance!" The one son yelled back.

"No one truly understands the genius of my craft! Therefore, they must be punished!"

"You ingrate! No wonder no one wants to listen to your music!"

"YOU LEAVE OUR BROTHER ALONE, YOU BIG BULLY!" Lola's voice suddenly sounded from high above. Her sheer volume was enough to cause the arm of the player to shake, causing the needle to bounce off the sides and slow down for a moment.

"L...Lola!?" Did Lincoln really just hear that? Did he really hear one of his sisters right there?

"He heard me!?" The pageant princess inquired in surprise, her family holding their ears in pain.

"How can he not?" Lori groaned. "I think they heard you all the way in California…"

"It appears that, if we were to speak at a higher than normal volume, it's possible for Lincoln to hear us." Lisa theorized after her ears stopped ringing. Leni, Lana, and Lynn's eyes lit up, the three of them taking a deep breath.

"Whoa! Hold up!" Luna exclaimed, holding up her hands to stop them. "If you all yell at once, Linc might get distracted, and that would be bad…" Her words were, fortunately, enough to stop them.

The white haired boy's mind was racing as he ran along the curved path. There was another by solid walls and floor around him, and swirling fog far above him, and the needle was starting to gain again. He couldn't keep running like this. He had no escape. He closed his eyes, getting ready to accept his fate when...BOOOOM! A fiery explosion rocked the record, shards of vinyl flying across the path far ahead. The needle was bounced around again, causing it to lose momentum. "Lincoln!" A familiar young lady's voice shouted from a newly created hole in the wall. "Over here, amigo!" As soon as he ran up to the gap in the barrier, he drove through, the needle skidding past seconds later. "Are you alright, Lincoln?" Cactus Girl asked, hopping over to the young man's side. The young man was breathing heavily, sweating from the effort of maintaining a full run.

"I...think so...thanks, Cactus-Whoa!" He yelled, grabbing the young living cactus and jumping back through the hole, narrowly avoiding the razor sharp blade as it zipped past the other side. Her needles dug into his arm as he held her, but he couldn't even feel it with his adrenaline. "...that was close…"

"Thanks, Lincoln." She said, looking down at the arm holding him. "...you...uh...can let me go now."

"Oh...right. Sorry." He said as he released her, A few beads of blood appeared on his arm where the spines stuck into him. The little cow girl looked apologetically at him as she pulled off her neckerchief and used it to wrap his injury.

"There. That should do it."

"Aww. She's so nice." Leni cooed, smiling at the scene.

"That much be Cactus Girl. Well, at least we know she isn't a 'prick'. Hahahaha!"

"Luan!" Her parents scolded her, the family joker smiling sheepishly.

"She's pretty cute though." Lana commented, leaning in for a closer look.

"She is...for a cactus." Lola agreed.

"...did...the music just stop?" The sports centered Loud pointed out, the silence coming from the crystal ball being very noticeable.

"Thanks again." The one son said after his small wounds were dressed. "Don't suppose you know how to get out of here?"

"...the only way out is to stop the music." She informed him. "Permanently."

"Stop the music, huh? Hmmm…" Lincoln's hand went to his chin as the gears in his head started turning. "...well, at least we have plenty of time to think…" The moment he said that, the arm and needle flew overhead, coming to rest in an earlier segment of the record. The middle Loud's mouth hung open for a moment as he witnessed this, followed by a few sour expression crossing his face. "Oh, that's just-"

"Bullshit!" Lynn snapped furiously.

"Junior! Language!" Lynn Sr told her, a look of anger and disappointment on his face.

"Well, it is!"

"While I wouldn't have put it so crudely, I must concur with Lynn's analysis of the situation." The little genius interjected. "This situation is far from what one would call fair."

"Oh no...what are they going to do?" Leni asked, worried to the point of tears as the two friends dodged the needle in both directions again.

"Either they stop that player, or they'll need to break some speed records." Luan quipped, though once more, no one thought it was very funny.

"Break some records…" Luna muttered, before her face suddenly lit up. "That's it! If they can ruin that record, it should stop the music. And if the little lady in green is right, that should save them."

"Hmmm. Logical. Vinyl records tend to be fragile, so it shouldn't be too diffcult." The bespectacled toddler commented after considering her older sister's idea for a second.

"Lincoln! Break the record!" Luna shouted, hoping Lincoln could hear her.

"Luna?" The one son said aloud when he heard her voice, though nowhere near as loudly as Lola's.

"What is it, Lincoln?" Cactus Girl asked, looking up at the human boy.

"I could have swore I heard Luna's voice. She said break the record." He replied, looking up toward the swirling mist.

"Break the record? Well, how does she suggest we do that!?" The hot headed desert dweller inquired sharply. After avoiding getting bisected for a third time, the white haired boy took the opportunity to think.

'Records are supposed to be pretty fragile...easily scratched.' He mused, the player's arm moving back over again. "Do you think your lasso can reach that arm?"

"I wish...but even if I could, neither of us are strong enough to pull it…"

"Good point…" The one son frowned as one idea went south. "Wait...how did you punch a hole in the wall before?"

"I borrowed a few sticks of dynamite from my brother." She admitted to her friend. "...but don't tell him I did. He doesn't like it when I use his stuff…" She added, looking both guilty and worried.

"I've been there. I understand." He replied. "Do you still have some left?"

"I think I have one stick left." Cactus Girl reached behind herself and pulled out a stick of tnt. "Si. One left."

"...I have a crazy idea." He told her in a deadpan voice. "If we use that dynamite to blast the needle into the wall, the force should cause it to rip through the walls like a battering ram." He started to explain as they were forced to move yet again. "That should scratch the record something fierce. No more record, no more music."

"...that is crazy." She agreed, looking at him like he lost his mind.

"I'm open to other suggestions at this point." A moment of silence followed his words, to which Cactus Girl pulled a match from her pocket.

"...just say when." She grumbled slightly.

"As soon as we pass through the hole the first time, light it." Lincoln instructed her. "Then count to three and throw it down the path. We'll dive through and we should be safe."

"I hope you know what you're doing…"

"Us too…" The Loud Children and parents said together.

The middle Loud and little sister of Cactus Gunman watched and waited as the blade came right for them again. When it came into view, they jumped through the hole in the wall for the fifth time, the fiery spirited cowgirl lighting the fuse. "One...two...three!" She hurled the stick as hard as she could before both she and Lincoln sprang back across and hit the dirt. Seconds later, the needle started to pass the tnt, almost exactly at the moment it exploded. The spike of steel was thrown like a cannonball, starting to tear through the vinyl like a knife through cardboard. The two friends and the Louds listening in cringed as the record screeched loudly as it was scratched.

"No! NOOOOO!" The pretentious musician screamed as the melody became distorted, then died. "My masterpieeeeeeeeeece!" He wailed as all went black once more. When Lincoln and Cactus Girl's vision returned, they found themselves laying on the graveyard grass, in front of the crypt Poor Conductor was standing atop.

"Whew...great job, Cactus Girl." Lincoln complimented her, giving her a bright smile.

"...not going to lie, amigo...I didn't think that was going to work...but am I glad it did." She said, helping the white haired boy up.

"My music...my magnum opus...ruined…" The melancholy music player moaned.

"Oh, shut up." Lincoln said angrily, glaring up at him. "You cried and moaned for an audience, but the moment you get one, you try and kill them! You have no right to beg for sympathy from us!" The lasso wielding young lady gave a sharp nod in agreement before she took Lincoln's hand and the two started to walk away, leaving the self important conductor to his own lamentations. "Oh, and your 'masterpiece' is bland too!" The one son snapped as a final shot before he and Cactus Girl disappeared from Poor Conductor's sight.


	26. Chapter 26: Rooftop Chat

Rooftop Chat

**"I have quite a few regrets in life, and even more during my time here. But one thing I definitely don't regret is meeting Cactus Girl."**

With the pretentious musician behind them, Lincoln and Cactus Girl were making their way back to the house. They weren't headed for the front door, however. The lasso looping gal was leading the young man around the side of the house, to a gutter spout toward the back. With a little help, the white haired boy started shimmying up, followed by Cactus Girl, until they eventually reached the roof. "I know it's not ideal, Lincoln, but we should be safe up here." She said as they carefully edged across the roof.

"It's fine, Cactus Girl." Lincoln said with a soft smile as he laid down on the side of the roof. He figured the two of them could lay low there, give Gregory and Mama time to give up looking for him, or more likely when they decide to look outside for him. "So, what brought you outside, my friend?"

"I was looking for you, Senor Loud. I was hoping I could get a chance to talk to you some more. Really get to know you, you know?" She told him before she sat down next to him. "I had looked in your room first, but I found Gregory and Catherine there instead."

"...so they're waiting for me…" The one son commented with a frown. "I wonder how long they plan to wait…"

"I had a feeling you were trying to stay away from that escoria, and where else would be best for avoiding him than outside?" She continued on with her story.

"Good bit of deduction, but I wasn't outside necessarily to avoid him. That was more of a happy result." Lincoln explained. "You see...I'm planning to leave this world."

"...Oh. I see…" The little cactus' voice had a sad edge to it, which Lincoln picked up on almost instantly. The white haired boy turned to look at her. "I can't say I blame you...I wouldn't wish this place on my worst enemy…"

"Yeah...I had a chance to leave pretty much right now, though, but-"

"Wait! You had a chance you didn't take it!?" She asked, looking at him like he had lost his mind. The young man just calmly nodded.

"I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to you, and my few other friends here." He told her. She just looked at him in astonishment. He stayed in this literal hellhole, even for a little while longer, for her? Apart from her brother, she had never had someone do something like that for her. She looked away from him so he couldn't see her blushing. The Loud family couldn't help but find this positively adorable as they watched through the crystal ball. "I have a few hours before I make my, hopefully, final departure, so we could talk now if you like."

"...I'd like that." She replied, taking a moment to calm down before looking back at him. "So...what did you like to do? Before you got here, I mean."

"I mostly read a lot of comic books, played a lot of video games, and watched quite a bit of tv with my friends and family." The white haired boy explained, looking up at the dark, swirling sky above them.

"...heh. Like I thought earlier. Nerd." She commented before she could stop herself. Lincoln just laughed it off though.

"Hehehe. Yeah, I know." He replied. He was so used to being called a nerd by Ronnie Anne and his sisters, so it didn't bother him at all. Cactus Girl was relieved he wasn't insulted. "How about you?"

"Me? Oh...I don't really have a lot of time for hobbies or games." She answered, sounding saddened by this fact. "Having to take care of my brother is a full time job in and of itself. Add onto that, I help him with his plans for revolutions for CactusLand…" She turned her gaze toward the ground far below as Lincoln gave her a sympathetic look, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I know how you feel." The one son told her.

"Yeah...I had a feeling you would." She replied to him. "You mentioned how much time you dedicate to your family last time we talked." Lincoln nodded once in response.

"But, honestly, I don't mind helping them from time to time. Sometimes, it can even be fun: like being Luan's test audience, joining Lola for a tea party, or just spending time with Lily..."

Luan smiled when she heard that her brother enjoyed the time they spent together as she tested jokes on him. Almost as pleased as Lola. "He really does enjoy my tea parties! See, I told you!" She cheered, looking smugly at her twin, who just rolled her eyes.

"...but then there are times I feel like I'm forced to give my time...whether by guilt, blackmail, or even physical force…"

"...like when your sister threatened you to go to that game?" The Middle Loud nodded, Lynn cringing in guilt.

"It's not the only time, either...when my sister, Lori's, boyfriend broke up with her (which I admit was as a result of something stupid and insensitive I said about his sister, Ronnie Anne), she went positively mental on me. I nearly got hit by an end table that day, before being forced to go on a double date with her, Bobby and Ronnie Anne…"

"Lori!" Rita snapped, giving her oldest daughter (who looked uncharacteristically timid at the moment) a very stern look.

"...ok, maybe we overreacted somewhat...but he did make Ronnie Anne cry…" Lori said kind of feebly.

"...we'll discuss this later…" The Loud Mother said angrily, before looking toward the orb again. She wondered why Lincoln never brought this up before.

Cactus Girl just shook her head in disgust. "And Lola...she's the queen of blackmail. Show the slightest weakness around her and she'll exploit it for years to come. Like when she overheard us all discussing our secrets to one another." He continued. Now it was Lola's turn to look really small under the gaze of their parents. "Lisa, on the other hand, is another story entirely. If she wants help with one of her experiments, she doesn't usually even ask. She just uses us as guinea pigs without our knowledge. And don't even get me started with Luan on April Fools day...though she gets everyone that day, not just me."

"Hmph. What about your parents!?" Cactus Girl asked in outrage. "Don't they do anything?"

"Both of them work most of the time...with a family as big as ours, they have to, so we try and resolve things on our own, for the most part. Though, even when they do get involved, they don't always get it right...heck, one of the first memories of my mother that returned to me was when she was scolding me for our family getting banned from a grocery store...because my sisters were acting up."

Rita gasped when she heard this, looking around at the girl's around her with a "that's not true, right?" frightened expression. The Loud sisters looked to one another, feeling terribly as they nodded in unison. The Loud Matriarch winced, then look down at the ground, feeling very guilty.

"...and my father...one time, the toilet ended up getting clogged. My sisters blamed me for it, which, to be fair, I had...accidentally plugged it up a few times in my younger days. But without evidence...without even questioning it...my father took their word for it and punished me."

"...did you do it?"

"No, I didn't-"

Lynn Sr's eyes started to fill up with tears when he heard that. He started sobbing into his hands, with his wife and Leni patting him on the back. "Wait...hold on a moment…" The pageant princess said with a frown. "Didn't Lincoln say in the end he DID clog the toilet?"

"Now that you mention it...he did." Luan intoned, looking confused. "...but then, why would he say that if he didn't?"

"...but in the end, I took the blame for it anyway." He said, a slight smile appearing on his face.

"WHAT!?" Cactus Girl, Lincoln's sisters and his parents all exclaimed at once. With everyone yelling at once, it kind of came out as a garbled mess, which made the one son look around in confusion as to where the noise came from. "Why would you do that!?" The spine covered cowboy inquired in outrage.

"I'm sorry, Cactus Girl, but I'm sworn to secrecy on that matter." He said calmly after he gave up trying to find the source of what he heard moments ago. "Let's just leave it as it was for a very good reason."

"Lincoln...took the blame?" Lori asked in astonishment, hardly able to believe what she heard.

"He missed out on that dorky con of his for something he didn't do?" Lynn looked equally shocked and confused.

"But...if he didn't do it...who did?" Lola asked, her eyes squinting as she glanced suspiciously around at everyone in the room. "...and why did he take the fall…?" Most of the girls started to think back to the moment when their only brother 'confessed' to the crime: what happened around that very moment? Before they could consider the answer, Lisa spoke up.

"While I am as curious as the rest of you as to his logic on the matter, I feel it is not the important point of this story." The young brainiac said matter of factly. "We can question him on his actions should he return."

"...you mean, when he returns, right?" Leni asked, looking very worried when her smarter little sister said that.

"I'm afraid should is the more realistic thought process, Elder sister." Lisa replied, though it somewhat pained her to say. "While he has voiced a desire to get home, and I myself would be ecstatic to see our brother up and about again, we cannot be certain he will succeed."

"Some family…" Cactus Girl said, positively furious now.

"...again, to be fair, Cactus Girl, those were only the worst of times...minus the whole bad luck stuff." Lincoln retorted before he sighed sadly. "Besides, I'm far from a boy scout myself...I've done my sisters wrong just as many times as they've done me wrong. Like when I posted embarrassing videos about them online without their knowledge…"

"...posting? Videos?" The green rinded child inquired in confusion.

"Oh...there is a service back home where you can place videos online for others to see, via computers." He explained, though his explanation didn't seem to help in the slightest.

"...what's a computer?"

"...er, nevermind. Just suffice to say I embarrassed my sisters for what would have been my own gain." He told her, looking blue once more. "And that's not all. I also tried to force my sisters into taking what I thought was the 'perfect picture' of all of us, treated them terribly after I won a day in a limousine...got them all fighting again after they had made up TWICE after big fights, because I blabbed too much…"

"Maybe...but at least with the picture and Sister Fight Protocol, you had the best intentions…" Lisa commented, shaking her head lightly. "Though that is what the road to Hades is paved with."

"...and that's just what happened with all the sisters at once." He continued, covering his eyes with one hand, cringing as he recalled the next memories. "I pushed Lana into doing a beauty contest to win tickets to a theme park, tricked my parents into thinking I was playing football when it was Lynn the whole time...and Lori...I especially gave her a hard time...I nearly cost her her prom trying to win the favor of a popular kid, staged a coup with the others when she was left in charge one time, sent her a nasty voicemail when I believed she broke my video game…"

"How nasty?" The little gunslinger asked cautiously.

"If my parents ever found out, I'd probably have my mouth washed out with soap until I turned sixteen…"

"Oh, it wasn't that bad." Lori interjected, though she still winced. "I mean, it was hurtful...but he was angry when he said it. We all say dumb stuff when we're angry."

"Don't remind me…" The sports loving sister groaned, using the bill of her baseball cap to cover her face.

"...hell, when I was convincing my sisters I was bad luck, I ruined some of her golf clubs...her expensive clubs…"

"...That's right! He had destroyed some of my best clubs!" The oldest sister exclaimed angrily glaring down at the orb.

"Hold up...what was that he said? About convincing us he was bad luck?" Luna interjected, a startled expression on her face.

"Does that mean he was telling the truth when he said he was faking being bad luck?" The ditzy fashionista asked simply.

"I think it does…" Lana answered.

"Well, that was a dumb thing to do…" Her prissy twin said with a scowl, her hands on her hips.

"Perhaps, but does that excuse our actions?" The little genius inquired.

"...I never said it did…" The beauty obsessed young girl said, looking hurt and sad.

"...yeah, I try and make things right after...but I still made some big mistakes. I'm only human, just like them." The white haired boy continued.

"Are you saying you aren't angry at them anymore?" This REALLY got the attention of his family, everyone except Lucy (who wasn't present) and Lynn getting so close to the crystal ball, their breath was starting to fog it.

"...yeeeee...nnnn...I don't know." He admitted after a moment of waffling about the question. "...I mean, I'm certainly more upset with some of them than I am with others. Lily, for example, I can't be angry with. She's only a baby." The Loud infant smiled brightly at the image of her brother. "And the twins...they're both little kids. I can't really hold the fact they believed it against them." Lola and Lana looked to one another before breathing a sigh of relief. "And Leni...let's just say I don't blame her much. Lori, you'd think I would be more upset with, since she's older...but I'm not."

"You hear that, Lori? He's not upset with us!" Leni said in a pleased tone. Lori's eyebrows almost disappeared into her hair, she was so surprised. He wasn't that upset with her?

"Lucy...I am still pretty angry at. I would think someone who knows as much about witchcraft, hexes and jinxes as her would be able to spot a real jinx...though maybe that is kind of unfair." Most of the Louds listening in grimaced, glad that the gothic gal wasn't around to hear that. "Lisa, on the other hand, should have been able to spot I wasn't really unlucky. She may be four years old, but she's a literal genius."

"...fair enough. I myself am somewhat embarrassed I fell for that as well." Lisa said in her usual deadpan.

"Luan, I'm angry with, but I think I'd be a LOT more furious if this were her idea of a joke...and unfortunately, this would be just the kind of joke she'd pull…"

"Come on. I wouldn't go THAT far for a joke…" The family jester objected, only to get 'are you kidding!?' looks from her siblings. "...right?"

"Luan...you tricked Lincoln into triggering all your April Fools traps by exploiting his feelings for Ronnie Anne…" Lori informed her sternly, causing Luan to shrink down some.

"Luna...yeah, I'm still really ticked off at." He continued on, not knowing his family was listening. "Out of all my sisters, she's usually the most level headed...of all my sisters, I would have thought she would have been the first to say kicking me out was going too far." The rock and roll sister cringed terribly when she heard that; it was like someone told her that her music sucked, only it hurt a lot more. "My parents...of course I'm still irate with them. They were fool enough to go along with the hysteria and they had the final say in kicking me out!" Mr and Mrs Loud had both descended into tears again, with Leni trying to comfort them. "But I'm just as furious with myself at the end of the day…" The white haired boy said, looking toward his spine laden friend with tears in his eyes.

"Himself? Why is he so angry with himself?" The family fashionista asked, looking puzzled. An inquiry that was also voiced by Cactus Girl.

"Did I have the nerve to tell Lynn no? Did I speak up to my other sisters about not having enough time to myself before that point? Did I stop the jinx rumor from spreading? No...I had the opportunity to stop it. I had several opportunities...but I didn't take them until it was too late. Heck, I even added fuel to the fire. I'm just as responsible as most of them…" Cactus Girl waited until he finished his dialogue before she shifted over closer to him and gently hugged him, careful not to poke him with her spikes.

"Curious. He didn't mention anything about Lynn." Lisa piped up, tapping her chin a little.

"Does he really need to…?" The sports star of the family asked glumly. "He knows what I did...we all do. Of course he's going to be pissed at me...I'M pissed at myself." She declared, putting her head in her hands. "...he's probably going to hate me forever…" She added, tears of anger and sorrow trickling down her cheeks.

"Now Junior...that's going a bit far." Rita said to her athletic daughter, once her own tears had ended.

"is it, Mom…?" She replied sourly. Her sisters looked to one another with worried expressions. Lynn wasn't necessarily wrong; she was at the center of what happened to their brother. No doubt he would be angriest at her. But this was Lincoln they were talking about. He couldn't hate any of them forever...right?

"...thanks, Cactus Girl." He said, putting an arm around her in return, also careful not to get poked. "You know…" He continued, in an effort to change the subject to a happier subject. "...you remind me of a close friend of mine from back in reality."

"I do?"

"Mmhmm. My friend, Ronnie Anne." He told her with a small smile. "Headstrong, confident, a bit of a temper, rough on the outside, but sensitive on the inside." The little green cowgirl blushed lightly, a bit of a silly grin on her face. "...and a bit of a brat." He quickly added with a smirk. The spine covered girl's eyes widened as she pulled away from him and punched him in the arm. Lincoln winced a bit, but chuckled after, rubbing his arm. "Yep. You even punch me in the arm just like she does." She just stared at him for a moment in silence before the both of them just started laughing softly. The white haired boy may have only a short time left in this world, but he was determined to make that time as enjoyable as possible as he lay there on the roof with Cactus Girl, just shooting the breeze for a while.

* * *

_AN: A bit of a long one, as Gregory Loud Horror Story goes. However, I had quite a bit of ground to cover. Sorry if this episode came off as kind of rant or vent-ish, but I thought it would help for the Loud family to hear what Lincoln really felt about past and recent issues. However, I did try to be fair, voicing Lincoln's wrongdoings as well._


	27. Chapter 27: The Raid of Lincoln's Room

The Raid of Lincoln's Room

**"Gregory and Catherine. The gruesome twosome. If I'm going to get past them, I'm going to need help. Little did I know where the help would come from…"**

After listening to the one son speaking candidly to his lasso roping friend through the crystal ball, most of the family was feeling quite somber. To some of them, this was a wake up call in the form of a slap in the face. To Lynn, it was more weight dragging her ever further down. All was silent for a moment before the unbearable quiet was broken by a ding from downstairs. "...my timer. Dinner must be ready…" Lynn Sr said, almost emotionlessly as he departed from the twins' room.

"...I'll help you out, Dad." Lori said after a few seconds, following him out.

"Come on, girls. Let's all head down to dinner…" Rita requested of her children.

"Why not? I don't think much will happen while those two are just talking, plus it's not like our presence will affect much presently." Lisa voiced her opinion, strolling out of the room, the rest of the family starting to follow her.

"...I'm not feeling especially hungry." Lynn said dully, remaining in her seat by Lola's bed, where Lincoln's body lay. "I think I'll stick around here…"

"Are you sure, dear?" Her mother inquired in concern, to which the ponytailed athlete simply nodded.

"Should one of us go wake Lucy?" Lana suggested, pointing to the room where the goth girl slept within her coffin.

"No. Give her some time to rest. The poor girl exhausted herself trying to find Lincoln…" Mrs Loud responded, gently corralling the tomboy twin downstairs, leaving Lynn Jr alone with her thoughts and her unconscious brother.

* * *

As much fun and as restful as it was to just lay on the roof and hang out with the younger of the two living cacti, Lincoln knew he couldn't do this forever. He had things that needed to be done, so after one last, heartfelt farewell and embrace, Cactus Girl helped him sneak back into the house through a broken attic window. Fortunately, no one was up there (though it was so cluttered with stuff, he didn't think he could tell if there was), so he was able to make his way down to the second floor. It took him some time to traverse the upper level, as he had to make sure the way was clear. Gregory and Catherine, he suspected he knew where they were, but Mama was still on the prowl, and she may very well be more dangerous than both of them. Fortunately, his path to his first destination, Dog Mummy and Mummy Poppa's room, was unimpeded. He knocked on the door and gave a hasty, but sincere goodbye to the bandaged up duo once the father answered. Dog Mummy was, of course, saddened to know Lincoln was leaving, but wished him a fond farewell regardless. Now came the hard part in Lincoln's eyes; getting into his room.

Getting to the door wasn't an issue. Mama didn't seem to be patrolling around there. However, this all looked too easy to the one son. He slunk his way over to the door and pressed his ear against it. "Are you sure he'll be here, Gregory?" He heard Catherine ask. She sounded quite annoyed and bored.

"He'll be here, Catherine." Gregory responded, trying to sound reassuring. "He has to come sleep sometime."

"I suppose so…" The lizard nurse replied. Judging by the sound of springs creaking, one of them sat down on his bed. "...I suppose this is the closest you'll get to getting a lady in bed~" She taunted Gregory, earning an annoyed grunt from him. The white haired boy wasn't sure what she meant, but had to stifle a snicker regardless.

'Ok...they're still in there...how am I going to get them out?' He wondered mentally.

"Hey Lincoln!" The middle Loud cringed before he looked down the hall, seeing James skipping up to him while waving his arms. Thank goodness the duo hiding out in his room didn't hear the little pest. "Whatcha doing!?"

'For the love of...it just had to be James.' Lincoln thought in irritation as the little rat boy approached him. But then, an idea hit him. 'Hmmmm. Perhaps I can knock out three birds with one stone here…' He moved away from the door and asked the little boy quietly. "Hey, James. You want to play a little game?"

"A game!? Oh wow! What kind of game!?"

"You've heard of vikings, right?" The human lad asked, praying Gregory's grandson had.

"Uh huh." James replied, excitedly nodding his head.

"Well, you're about to become a viking king." Lincoln told him, which brought a look of awe and eagerness to the little rodent's face. "I'll go into more details in a little bit. First we need to get a ship…"

"I have a wagon." The troublemaking mouse kid offered, pointing back where he had come from.

"That'll work. Come on, your highness. We have a raid to prepare for." The one son said as he followed after James, hardly able to believe his luck in getting the bad little boy on board with this idea.

* * *

A couple minutes later, the white haired boy and mischievous mouse child were riding along the corridor slowly in James' little wagon, with the former rowing along with a broom and carrying a wooden sword at his side and the latter standing boldly up front, a toy battle ax in hand and a horned helmet on his head. Lincoln had a bit of a smirk on his face, not only because of what he believed was going to happen, but also he imagined what Lisa would say about the historical inaccuracy of the helmet. "Hehehe. This is going to be great, isn't it, Linc?" James said with a snicker.

"Yes, King Berzerk." The middle Loud replied with his best viking accent (which was still pretty bad). Hearing the name the older kid had given him made James grin with pride.

"I think this calls for a good old fashioned viking song!"

"Great. Do you know any?"

"...no. Do you?" James asked, lowering his weapon and looking back at his oarman, his smile fading.

"Not a one." Lincoln admitted. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two before they returned to what they were doing before as if nothing happened, singing;

"Yo ho, yo ho! A viking's life for me!" Up ahead, in Lincoln's room, Gregory was pacing about the tiny room while Catherine was polishing her giant needle while humming to herself. The old rat was starting to get really antsy. With as long as this was taking, his mother could have already won already. He was about to look out into the hall when he heard something from outside. He placed his ear to the door for a listen.

"What is it, Gregory?" The lizard woman inquired with a smirk.

"I hear something...it sounds like singing." The elderly hotel owner replied with a bit of a frown.

Outside, the two kids parked their wagon a little bit from the door, Lincoln tossing a cardboard anchor out. "Alright, my king...here's the plan." The white haired boy whispered as the two hopped out of their 'ship'. "On three, I'll pull open the door and you'll charge in screaming, grabbing whatever you can and, if you can, taking prisoners."

"Got it." James responded quietly, a big grin on his face as he held onto his faux weapon.

"Meanwhile, I'll go in, pick off stragglers, and grab whatever's left." The little brat nodded again, barely able to contain his excitement. The one son tiptoed over to the door and started to count down with his fingers, his other hand on the doorknob. The moment he lowered his third finger, he pulled to door wide open, revealing a surprised Gregory.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" James screamed as he charged in, swinging his ax around. His Grandfather was so surprised that he ended up getting knocked to the ground, getting trampled by the little mouse.

"Ouch! Ouch! James!" The elderly rat yelled in pain, while the nurse just looked utterly shocked at what was happening.

"For Odin!" The little mouse boy bellowed as he grabbed Catherine and held her over his shoulder, stomping on his Grandpa on his way out of the room.

"Oh! Oh my...now why can't I get this kind of attention from men?" The pink lizard asked somewhat wistfully, playing along with the brat. Lincoln kept a low profile as James tied up the reptilian nurse, slipping into the room past the pained old rodent. He speed walked over to his suitcase, opened in and quickly pocketed the pop gun. He then grabbed up his clothes to continue the ruse of the game. He ran out of the room frantically, calling out to James.

"Yer highness! We're in over our heads!" The little mouse gasped as the one son ducked around the corner, running after him. When the 'viking king' rounded the bend, he found Lincoln laying on the ground, his sword under his arm, looking like he had been stabbed. "Cough cough...I...I fought them as best I could, my king…"

"Lincoln...are you...are you alright?" James said, kneeling down beside him, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Yeah...just-cough-a flesh wound." The middle Loud replied weakly, trying to get up, but failing. "...ah, who am I kidding? This...was my last battle.."

"No...a fierce warrior like you? I won't believe it!" Gregory's grandson cried out.

"See you...in Valhalla." The white haired boy groaned before he closed his eyes and went limp. The rat boy sniffled a few times, tears trickling down his face before he took hold of his toy axe, glaring back the way he had just come from.

"They'll pay for that…" He growled before running as fast as he could back down the hall.

"Good grief...where did he learn to tie knots like this?" The bruised Gregory inquired sourly as he attempted to untie Catherine, who was laying in the wagon looking pretty chill about the whole thing. "Hang on, Catherine. I almost have this."

"Take your time~" She replied calmly, while thinking 'Shame he isn't all grown up…'

"That little brat...I don't care what Mama says. I will give him a-" His gripings were cut off by the sound of wrath fueled bellowing from up the way. He turned just in time to see James storming right at him, axe raised over his head in both hands. The old rat screamed in fear and fled in the opposite direction. "James! Stop this at once! I'm your Grandpa!" He cried out in a vain attempt to get him to stop. Meanwhile, the bloodthirsty nurse just watched them from her place, chuckling a bit before looking at the bindings around her wrists and legs. She squirmed a little bit before blushing softly.

* * *

Lincoln opened his eyes after a few seconds of silence, looking around to make sure he was alone. He smirked a little, pleased he was able to get away with this. Plus it was kind of fun. But now he had to get out of there to meet up with Dog Angel. So off he went, not bothering so much with stealth at this point, headed for the front door.


	28. Chapter 28: Amending Bridges

Amending Bridges

Down at the Loud family dinner table, things were tense and sullen. No one was eating much and not a word was being spoken. Only the sound of cutlery against plates could be heard. That is, until Lori dropped her fork on the table and rose to her feet. "Alright...I think I know what we're all thinking, so let's address the elephant in the room…"

"An elephant? Where?" Lana asked, standing on her seat and looking around with excitement. "Can I keep it?"

"Er...there is no elephant, Lana." The oldest sister informed her, which brought the animal lover right back down. "It means the big obvious problem we're trying not to address. In this case, what are we going to do about Lincoln when he does come back?" Lisa turned to the official leader of the Loud kids, but the moment she opened her mouth, Lori snapped. "Don't want to hear it, Lisa. As far as I'm concerned, he IS coming back. End of discussion." The little genius simply shrugged, too used to her older sister to give much of any other reaction.

"Lori's right." Luna agreed, putting her own flatware down. "We gotta find a way to make it up to the little dude for this whole fiasco."

"But how?" Luan inquired, looking especially down. "This isn't like spilling our drink on his comic, shrinking his favorite shirts, or sticking his sheets in the fridge and remaking his bed just to see him react to laying on cold sheets..." The family joker snickered a bit, with Lola and Lana giggling lightly, and even Lori's dour look twitching some. "...this is a royal screw up by all involved…"

"I know what we can do…" Rita commented in a serious tone. "Lisa, do you still have the list of people we sold Lincoln's belongings to?" She added, turning to the second youngest child of the lot.

"I do, mother." She replied. "However, as a few of them were part of a larger business, I suspect they might not be so willing to accept their money back for most items sold. His comic collection, for example."

"We have to try." The Loud father said as he took the list from her. "We'll get back what we can and replace what we can't…" He took one look at the list and kind of blanched in response. "...well, replace some of it…"

"It'll take some time, but we'll get it all back or replaced eventually." The Loud mother said with firm conviction in her voice.

"Oh! I could make his bed!" Leni offered, raising her hand cheerfully.

"Uh...that's nice sweetie, but-"

"Actually, Mom, Leni means she can literally MAKE him a bed." Lori explained, looking at her younger, dimmer sister with a somewhat proud smile. "Like from scratch. She made me one a few weeks back, and it looks incredible."

"I can help her with that. I have some materials and tools she can use." Lana interjected with a big smile. "In fact, we could probably build Lincoln's dresser too."

"It'll take some time, but it'll be totes gorgeous."

"Oh. Well, if you think you can do it, that would be a big help, sweetheart." Her mother said with a soft smile of her own.

"Lana...we may have to enact Plan A early." Lola told her twin seriously. "I know that we were waiting for his birthday, but this is more important."

"Yeah...yeah, I agree." Her tomboyish twin replied with a nod.

"That's a good start." Lori said with a smile and a nod.

"I suspect I could probably put together a new computer for Lincoln, should we be unable to reclaim his laptop." Lisa suggested, her eyes pointed up toward her room. "May even be more powerful than his own, with the parts at my disposal." The oldest of the sisters nodded before looking to Luna and Luan. The rock and roll sister looked clueless about what she could do (which only brought her down more) and Luan seemed equally devoid of ideas. Lori couldn't blame them; she wasn't sure either. And even then, replacing his stuff was only the first step. Their brother may be very forgiving, but there were limits. It was going to take a lot to earn his forgiveness and trust. However, she couldn't bring herself to bring down the mood after raising it in the first place. 'One step at a time…' She thought to herself. With the hope of helping their lost brother/son by regaining his sold possessions ignited slightly within most of them, dinner was a slightly less morose event, if somewhat hastened. Lynn Sr and Rita didn't wish to waste any time, so once they were finished, they suited up for a long evening of driving.

"Lori, you're in charge while we're gone." The Loud mother informed the oldest of their children. "Keep us posted on any changes about Lincoln."

"Right. Good luck, Mom, Dad." Lori responded as she and Luna started to clear the table of dishes.

"Lori...I'm as lost as Leni with a cereal box maze…" Luna quietly admitted as the two of them started to do the dishes, most of the other sisters heading off to get started on their own tasks.

"Not sure how you're going to make up with Lincoln?" Lori whispered in reply, handing her a cleaned and rinsed plate to dry. Luna nodded in a dejected manner. "I'm on the same boat, Luna...and it's sinking."

"If this were a normal sitch, I'd make a tune for the little dude...but this is far from the norm…" She said sadly, gazing down at the plate in her hand. 'Plus he said he was maddest at me…' She told herself in her own mind. "...it just doesn't seem enough."

"I know what you mean. Getting his stuff back...it's a good start, but after that...I've got nothing."

"We could get him new comics or such...but that seems a cheap way to do it...buying his trust…" Lori nodded in agreement and sighed.

"Maybe we can hold a meeting with Luan and Lynn once we finish these dishes...Lucy too once she's rested…" The eldest sister suggested quietly.

"Lynn...I can only imagine how she feels right now…" Luna commented, looking up toward the ceiling.

* * *

Up in Lola and Lana's room, Lynn was still seated by Lincoln's unconscious form, curled up into a kind of ball on the chair and sobbing silently. She could hardly bear to look at him, but couldn't leave his side either, so there she sat, trapped in her own mind. 'He's going to hate me for life…' She thought to herself. '...if he does return, he'll hate me forever...I know it...' She wiped the tears from her eyes, only for a fresh wave to follow. 'Damn it...why did it have to happen to him...he doesn't deserve this shit...why didn't it happen to me instead!?' She growled to herself as she punched the mattress, making her brother's lifeless body bounce with it. She gasped and quickly straightened him and the bed out. Seeing him and touching him to make it right made her wince, forcing her to look away as soon as she was done.

"Hey Lincoln! Whatcha doing!?" She heard from the crystal ball. She blinked in surprise, turning toward the orb. Curious, she decided to move over for a look. When she got there, Lincoln was asking James if he'd like to play a game.

"...a game? Why does he want to play a game? I thought he was trying to escape." She frowned lightly as she watched on, with her brother asking the rat boy if he knew what vikings were, before they hurried off to go get his wagon. The sports star simply sat there in silence as she stared into the sphere, watching as Lincoln and James got themselves ready for their 'game' and started 'sailing' back to his room. She couldn't deny it was kind of sweet to watch. It reminded her of the many times the white haired boy played with the twins, or with Leni when he was a toddler, or even when the two of them played together in their younger days.

That memory in particular made the ponytailed young teen feel a sharper pang of guilt, shaking her head to clear it before she continued to watch. The one son had just described the plan of attack to Gregory's grandson, before opening the door. Lynn couldn't hide a small chuckle as she watched the mini mouse charge in, wooden ax swinging. The chuckle became a flurry of giggles when the rat child emerged carrying the reptilian nurse. It was weird, silly, kinda cute; she couldn't help herself. However, the focus was still on Lincoln, so the spell followed him as he moved like a ninja into his room. It all became clear to the athlete when she saw her brother collect a popgun that looked like a revolver. "A gun? Where'd he get that?" She asked in surprise. "...then again, if that place is as dangerous as Haiku says...he probably needs it…" Just then, he scooped up his clothes and started running, yelling to his 'king' that they were in over their head. "Now what's he doing?"

She continued to watch as Lincoln turned the corner, dropping the clothes and putting the sword under his arm to look like he had been stabbed. Another soft burst of snickers escaped her lips as James followed his tracks and her brother gave his Oscar not so worthy performance. That and the trouble making vermin charging to avenge his 'death' just tickled her so much, she couldn't help but laugh. It made her feel a little better. Not by a lot, but it was what she desperately needed.

* * *

Back downstairs, Lori and Luna had finished the dishes and had made their way to the living room, where the family joker was sitting in front of the tv without really watching it. She didn't even realize they had entered the room until her roommate tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey. We're gonna have a little meeting with Lynn to discuss what we're gonna do to make amends to Linc. Come on." Luna told her, nudging her head to the stairs.

"Amen-d to that…" Luan quipped weakly, though even she didn't laugh at that. "...maybe we can think of something if we put our heads together."

"That's what I hope." Lori replied, walking toward the stairs. Before they could head up, though, there was a knock on the door. "Hmm? Who could that be?"

"No way it could be Mom and Pop." Luna commented, looking at her watch. The eldest Loud sister answered the door, finding Haiku standing on the other side. She was wearing her usual dark outfit, carrying a thick book in her right arm. Her expression was as flat as usual, but there was the shadow of anger around it. Lori was surprised to see her there, but before she could ask anything, she spoke up.

"I'm here to speak to Lucy."

"Lucy? Er...she's up in her room, but she's resting right now." Lori informed her as the gothic girl strolled right past her. "She tired herself out trying to find Lincoln…"

"I see." The raven haired young lady replied, not even looking at the phone obsessed teen as she scaled the stairs. 'At least Lucy is trying.' She thought to herself as she got to the second level. The moment she got to the top of the stairs, she needed to duck to avoid getting hit by planks of wood being carried by Leni, who was taking them downstairs.

"Hi, Haiku," She chirped as she carried a large stack of lumber down, headed for the garage. The goth girl was a little surprised by this, even more so when she heard soft laughter from Lola and Lana's room. Curious, she moved over to the doorway for a look inside, seeing Lynn kneeling by Lucy's crystal ball, her full attention on the ball. Her eyes were looking kind of red, the front of her jersey looking somewhat damp, and even if she had a bit of a grin following her laughter, Haiku could tell there was still sadness behind it. Looking up slightly, she could see the unconscious mortal form of Lincoln; out cold, but at least comfortable and safe. That was something in her eyes.

"S'cuse me!" Lana declared, pushing past the taller girl while carrying her toolbox. So focused was she on Lola's side of the room, she didn't notice the handywoman on her own side. She hastily went down the stairs and into the garage.

'What are they up to?' Haiku wondered briefly before she refocused on her purpose for being there. She walked over to the room she knew belonged to her friend. Inside, there was no sign of her, but the lid to her coffin bed was closed, so it wasn't hard to figure out where she was. Haiku walked over beside the casket, after closing the door behind her, and gently knocked upon it. The lid creaked open, the pale Loud looking out at her.

"Haiku…" Lucy said in a soft monotone.

"Lucy…" She responded as the case was opened all the way, the young lady with her hair over one eye climbing into it and sitting opposite her. "Feeling better?"

"Do you really need to ask…?" The eight year old occult enthusiast responded, looking down at the cushioned interior of the coffin.

"...I was referring to if you regained your energy."

"...somewhat, yes," She slowly looked back up at her. "It took me a long time to get a bead on Lincoln...but it was worth it."

"Good. Good." Haiku set her book aside and looked right into where Lucy's eyes were hidden. "I'm sure you know why I'm here…"

"You did say you wanted to speak to me in private."

"Indeed. Needless to say, I was furious about what I had heard," She told her, though her expression didn't seem to match. "And make no mistake, I am still not happy with any of you. However, I've had some time to calm myself, plus I can see you are at least trying to do what you can. I still plan to talk with you, hence why I am here, but we're going to be having a very different discussion than what I had planned."

"What is it you wish to discuss?"

"How we can help your brother," The taller of two goths explained.

"Help him? I thought you said-"

"I mean after he returns," Haiku elaborated with a shake of her head. "There's literally nothing you can do for him in Gregory's world. But Lincoln is going to need help when he returns to his body. Being trapped in that infernal hotel can leave very deep scars upon the soul. Add unto that the mental and emotional traumas he's no doubt faced at the hands of the damned souls and Gregory himself, and he will need all the help he can get to recover from all that. If those wounds go untreated...he could slip right back into Gregory House, and there will be no saving him."

"Haiku...if I may ask, how do you know so much about this place?" Lucy inquired, the question having been plaguing her mind ever since their phone conversation earlier.

"I've done a lot of research upon it after I accidentally stumbled upon it one evening," The tall, pale girl told her smaller friend. "When I first started down the goth path, I tried to establish a connection to the spirit world, like some do. Unlike others, who would use crystal balls or ouija boards for this purpose, I attempted something more dangerous...an out of body experience." Lucy gasped. "Yes, I know. Foolish. And I damn near paid the price for it. After a few failed attempts, I managed to successfully let my spirit leave my body of my own volition. The first few times, nothing really happened, I confess. However, the fourth time, I noticed a strange voice calling to me. I followed the voice until I came close to an old building, surrounded by a graveyard and a dark forest...Gregory House. I could feel it's pull upon my soul, but I had the sense to keep away. I fled back to my body...yet, I was still curious."

"So that was when you started to look into it?" The eight year old occult enthusiast inquired, her own curiosity piqued.

"Yes. I didn't know what it was called at the time, but my description of the location got me a few answers on one of the few occult message boards I frequented back then. Particularly, the name Gregory House. Once I had a name to work off of, I was able to learn a little bit more from those who had been there." Haiku looked off into the direction of Lola and Lana's room. "Admittedly, it wasn't as much information as I'd like, but I did learn a few important things: namely, how to protect my soul from it's influences."

"And how is that?"

"Don't get any ideas, Lucy. As I said-"

"I know, Haiku. My soul is too burdened by my sorrow, guilt and sins," Lucy cut her off. "I understand that. I promise you...I don't plan to use this information to enter the world myself." She held up her hand as if she were solemnly swearing to it.

"...very well. One of the key things is to keep a connection to reality with you, because once you lose that connection, you've lost." She reached into her dress and pulled out the locket that held the picture of the vampire she was fond of. "In my case, I bring my locket with me whenever I go to Gregory House. Anything the person in question values. With that, you also need to place a protective spell upon it. I've tried a few evil spirit repelling rituals on a few different talismans over time, and they've all worked decently well enough. As long as they make the likes of Gregory keep their distance and prevent the taint of the house from affecting you." Lucy nodded as she took mental notes. "And one last thing that helps is that I don't rock the boat when I visit the hotel of lost souls. Gregory is used to seeing me around, knows he can't touch me without a lot of effort, and knows I don't cause any trouble when I'm there, so he and his family don't pay me much attention."

"Wait...so you don't usually help souls lost in the hotel?"

"No. In most cases, they don't want help. In other cases, they already have someone guiding them; Neko Zombie. Lincoln, however...Lincoln was a special case. He's my friend, just as much as you are, so I was willing to take the chance to help him."

"...you still consider me your friend?" Lucy could hardly believe her ears.

"Yes. I do, Lucy," Haiku answered with the ghost of a smile, which faded as quickly as it came. "But don't ever let something like this happen again."

"I promise, Haiku." The little goth responded firmly, before they returned to discussing how they would help the lost boy with the healing process.

* * *

While Lucy and Haiku were having their talk, Luan, Lori, Lynn and Luna were holed up in Lori and Leni's room for their meeting. The oldest of the sisters stood before her desk, high heel gavel in hand. "Alright everyone...we know why we're here and what we need to do, so let's just cut to the chase," She said, looking around at the three other teens in the room. "Does anyone have any suggestions as to what we can do to make things better with Lincoln?"

"Impossible...at least for me…" Lynn grumbled, staring at her sneakers.

"...Anyone else?" Lori asked with a look of annoyance on her face.

"I was hoping you guys would have ideas, because I'm stumped…" The family comedian confessed, sitting down with her chin resting on her fist like she was posing to be 'The Thinker'.

"Actually, I just thought of something," Luna said, suddenly looking toward her oldest sister. "Remember what we heard on the ball? That Linc is beating himself up over this thing just as badly as the rest of us, if not more so?" Lori and Luan both nodded, wondering where she was going with this. "When he gets back, I think one of us should have a talk with the little dude about that. Help him get through it, know what I'm saying?"

"Hmmm. You're right, Luna. Good thinking," The authoritative blonde said with a soft smile. "And since it was your idea, I think you should be the one to talk to him."

"Whoa-hold the phone, sis," The musically inclined teen responded nervously. "I don't know that's a good idea. Lincoln's angriest at me out of all of us, remember?"

"Luna, you hardly did anything-" Lynn started to interject, but her older sister cut her off.

"That's entirely the point. I did hardly anything to help him." Luna slumped in her spot on Leni's bed, her eyes closed as she hung her head. "Linc was right...I could have said something. I should have said something...but I didn't."

"It sounds to me like you would be the perfect one to help Lincoln through that problem, Luna," Lori said, looking at her saddened younger sister with a serious expression. "Because the two of you share the same problem." Luna looked up and opened her mouth, but it seemed the eldest sister was having none of that. "Luna…we all had the chance to say we were crossing lines at the time, but none of us took it. We could say 'coulda, woulda, shoulda' until the cows come home, but it doesn't change what happened. We can't change what happened...we can only try and remedy our mistakes."

"...yeah. I guess." The usually spirited rocker said, not sounding as convinced.

"You know...what Luna said gave me an idea." Luan commented, her face brightening a bit. "It looks and sounds like Lincoln had a really hard time at that Gregory House place, right?" Lori, Luna and Lynn all nodded in response. "Well, maybe we can help him forget all about that place when he gets back...well, perhaps not all about it. He'd probably want to remember Cactus Girl."

"Not a bad idea, Luan. Any thoughts on how to do that that don't involve Lisa's special brand of helping?" Lori inquired, getting a giggle out of Luan and even a chuckle from the morose rockstar.

"Nothing concrete yet, though I firmly believe in the healing power of laughter," The comedianne replied. "I'll brainstorm a few ideas and get back to you on that."

"Alright. Still a few steps further than when we started." The leader of the Loud children said as she tapped her desk with her shoe gavel. "What about you, Lynn? Any notions on how you're going to make it up to Lincoln?"

"Lori...what can I do?" The usually headstrong sports star asked, shaking her head dismally. "This is all my fault. What the hell could I do to make it right…?" This earned her some odd looks from her older sisters.

"What's with the defeatist attitude, sis?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She's right. This isn't like you, Lynn," Luan agreed, looking concerned at her younger sister. "I've never known you to give up, much less so easily."

"I'm being realistic!" The hot tempered teen snapped, punching the floor. "I got Lincoln labelled bad luck! I got him kicked out of the house! I was responsible for his soul getting lost in that Gregory House place!"

"We all had a hand in all of that, Lynn…" The oldest sister interjected.

"But I was responsible! If I didn't force him to come to my game, my only little brother wouldn't practically be in hell!" She yelled, forcefully getting to her feet, tears spilling down her cheeks. "There is no making up for me! He won't forgive me! I don't even deserve forgiveness!" With that outburst, she turned to the door and stormed away before anyone could stop her.

"...Damn," The third oldest of the sisters commented. "Looks like Linc isn't the only one who needs help…"

"...I'll go talk to her." Lori said, dropping the shoe in her hand and going in pursuit of the emotionally vulnerable Lynn.

"Do you think she'll be alright, Luna?" The head of Funny Business Inc inquired, more worried than ever now.

"I don't know, sis. I hope so, but I don't know…"

* * *

_AN: Wanted to give an explanation for why Haiku knew of and can enter Gregory's realm. Also, the idea of Leni making Lincoln a new bed inspired by That Engineer's "What is a Person Worth?" story._


	29. Chapter 29: Checking out

Checking Out

"**That's right. I'm getting out of here. I know it's not going to be easy, but I'm not planning to let anything stop me."**

With Catherine all tied up and Gregory indisposed, Lincoln was feeling confident as he ran for the stairs. He was practically home free in his mind.'Goodbye, Gregory House!' He thought as he started to slide down the banister. 'Nothing's stopping me now. Not Gregory. Not Catherine. Not-' He landed on the ground floor, skidding to a stop at his confidence fell like a rock. Standing right in front of the front door, staff in hand, was Mama. She looked up at the white haired boy and smirked.

"Did you really think it would be that easy, Mr Loud?" She asked in a smarmy manner.

"...more hoped than thought," The young man replied, gulping a bit.

"Well, one can always hope," The eldery rodent witch took a few steps toward him. "Even if the situation is hopeless. I mean, where exactly do you think you were going to go, young man? Outside? You don't even know where you are, or what's out there."

"Can't be much worse than being in here…" Lincoln responded, backing away from her.

"You really think so?" She asked, her grin becoming more evil. "Out there, you would get lost, suffer from the elements, the weather, the wildlife, slowly dying over time. Here, you would simply lose your soul. Simple, quick, though not painless...not now, anyway." The one son's eyes darted around the room, looking for a quick escape. Either side of Mama was clear, so he thought he could try and fake her out. He started to head to the right, with Gregory's mother making a move to stop him, but suddenly ran to the left. Against a normal opponent, this may have worked. However, she was hardly a normal foe. She waved her staff in his direction, sending a bolt of magic lightning right ahead of him. The middle Loud squeaked in fear, leaping back and falling onto his backside. Before he could even try to get up, Mama pressed a foot against his chest, forcing his back to the ground. "Nice try, Lincoln Loud…" She said with a sneer, her hair billowing as if she were backed by an industrial fan. "I must say, as much of a pain in the tail you've been, I almost wish I didn't have to do this. One as clever as yourself, we could use around here...but your soul has been calling to me, and it feels just about ripe." Once more, she raised her skull topped staff and started chanting in a language Lincoln couldn't even begin to comprehend.

* * *

Back at the Loud House, Lori had caught up with Lynn, who was standing frozen between her own room and Lola and Lana's room in the hall. She wanted to hide away in her room, but Lucy and Haiku were in there, and going back to where Lincoln was would have been counterproductive to her goal of calming down. She had just considered the bathroom as a safe place, but when she looked in that direction, she found herself looking into Lori's midsection. She slowly looked up at her older sister, who was gazing at her with sympathetic eyes. "Lynn, can we talk?"

"...what's there to talk about?" Lynn replied in a bleak manner, sounding an awful lot like her roommate.

"I know you're feeling bad, and I know you're placing the majority of the blame on your shoulders…" Lori started, kneeling a little and putting a hand on her athletic sister's shoulder.

"A majority? Lori, the blame is-" Before she could start on that song and dance again, her oldest sister covered her mouth with her free hand.

"I get it, Lynn. You messed up, big, We all have," The leader of the siblings told her. "Were you the key behind what went wrong? Yes. Is Lincoln going to be really mad at you when he gets back? Of course. Are you entirely to blame? No. You may have gotten the ball rolling, but not a single one of us stopped it. None of this could have happened if even one of us just got in the way of that ball. Got it?" Lynn nodded slowly, her mouth still covered. "Good. Now, the second point I want to make is that you aren't giving Lincoln enough credit."

"Huh?"

"Like I said, he'll probably be really steamed at you. No surprise. But to say he would never forgive you? That he'd hate you forever? You know him better than that," She slowly moved her hand from her sister's mouth. "Lincoln has gotten upset with us before...like when we meddled with him and Ronnie Anne. He got angry, he yelled, but he forgave us all the same...even though we were right."

"...but that didn't result in the family pretty much disowning him…" The ponytailed, headstrong sister replied in a glum tone.

"Lynn, that's…" Lori wanted to say that wasn't what happened, but she really couldn't. She decided to take a different tactic instead. "Well, for the sake of argument, let's say that there is an incredibly slim chance that he doesn't forgive us...so slim that Lisa's microscope couldn't pick it up-"

"Impossible," Lisa butt in from her room. "My electron microscope can view objects at nearly the subatomic level."

"The POINT is-!" The oldest sister started at a raised voice, reducing it to a more reasonable level to continue, "-even in that unlikely chance, you should still at least try to make things right. He deserves that much, wouldn't you agree?"

"...I know you're right, Lor...but...but…" Tears rapidly filled her eyes just before the dam broke. She threw her arms around her oldest sister, sobbing uncontrollably into her chest. Lori was utterly taken aback by this. This was very unlike Lynn.

'She's hurting even worse than I thought…' She thought as she tenderly hugged her distraught sister. She wasn't the only one to think so. Luna and Luan were peeking out from Lori's room, much like Lucy and Haiku from her own room, and they could see how much pain she was in, emotionally and mentally. Before anyone could make a move, however, they all heard a clap of thunder coming from Lola and Lana's room. Lynn turned her head suddenly, tears still spilling from her eyes.

"W...what was that!?"

"It sounded like it came from…" Rather than finish that thought, Lori simply pointed to the twins' bedroom. In the blink of an eye, everyone on the second floor flooded into the room, nearly causing a jam at the door. Down on the first floor, Leni and Lana peeked up the stairs, while Lola looked down from the attic stairs.

"What just happened?" Leni asked, looking confused.

"I don't know...but we better check it out," The handyperson suggested, the two of them scaling the stairs and following her beauty centered twin into the room. The scene inside was grim looking, to say the least. The Loud sisters huddled around the crystal ball looked horrified. Even Lucy looked paler than usual. Lola, Lana and Leni moved over to the sphere and all three gasped. Their brother was on his back, with Mama standing over him and chanting. "W...what's happening…?"

"That's Mama, Gregory's mother," Haiku informed them, looking more serious than before. "She's trying to steal his soul."

"What!? No!" Lynn cried, falling to her knees by the crystal. "Linc! Fight back! Don't let her do it!"

"Don't take Linky's soul!" Leni pleaded, who was just about to cry. The eldery rodent hag held her staff over Lincoln's chest and raised it higher, looking ready to plunge it right through his heart.

"Somebody do something!" Lola screamed. The moment she did, a gunshot rang out, shattering the skull on top of Mama's staff. The elderly rat woman looked absolutely shell shocked. "...uh...thank you?"

* * *

"What!?" Mama exclaimed, looking about the room. "Who would dare!?" Her eyes soon fell upon the steely gaze of Cactus Gunman, who held a smoking revolver in his hand.

"Let the boy go, bruja...and face a man," The living cactus growled, blowing the smoke from the barrel of his weapon.

"You insolent, trigger happy, vegetable!" The mother of Gregory bellowed. With her focus off of Lincoln, he made his move. He grabbed her leg and shoved with all of his might. Mama was thrown off balance by his sudden push, the rodent falling flat on her snout.

"Yeah! That's the way, Linc!" Lynn cheered at him.

With the foot off his chest, he sprang to his feet and rang to the door. "Oh no you-!" Mama shrieked, reaching for her broken staff. However, Cactus Gunman fired another shot at her. He was aiming for the space in front of her hand, but struck the wooden staff, causing it to explode into splinters.

"...that works too," The spine covered desperado commented when he realized his shot wasn't on target. "Andale, Senor Loud! I got you covered, amigo!"

"Thanks!" Lincoln called back as he made a mad dash for the double doors. The mousy witch was forced to take cover, but she wasn't done yet. She pulled a tiny glowing skull from his shawl and hurled it toward the door. The skull landed just in front of the white haired boy, causing a crater to form between him and the door. Rising from the hole, an enormous python slithered out, leering down at Lincoln and hissing at him. The middle Loud was paralyzed before the giant reptile. Cactus Gunman couldn't help him, as he was still keeping Mama covered. He had his own popgun, but he didn't have anything to use as ammo. The serpent reared back, ready to strike. Before it could, however, a lasso wrapped around its neck. The surprised snake thrashed around, causing Cactus Girl to fly forward and land right on its back.

"I got this, Lincoln! Get out of here!" She called to him as the python tried to throw her off like a bucking bronco.

"Thank you, Cactus Girl!" Lincoln said to her before he sprang across the rift and kicked the door open.

"No! His soul is mine! MINE!" Mama screeched as the one son crossed the threshold, out into the graveyard. He thought he was in the clear as he ran down the path and looked out over the tombstones, looking for Angel Dog.

"...going somewhere, my friend?" Lincoln froze in place as he heard that horribly familiar voice. He turned to see the old hotel owner falling from a second floor window, landing on his feet on the ground below.

"Just...getting a little air," The middle Loud replied nervously, stepping back from Gregory.

"Don't try and kid me, Mr Loud. I know what you're trying to do," The elderly rodent said, meandering toward the young man. "My question is why? Why are you trying to leave?"

"...if you know that I'm leaving, you damn well know why," He told him, his face becoming serious. No point playing along now.

"No, Mr Loud. I don't. So enlighten me: why would you want to return to your reality?" The rodent man asked in genuine curiosity. "What would that accomplish? You wouldn't have a home to return to. You would be left out, sleeping with the dog...if the dog hadn't abandoned you too. You wouldn't survive that for long, and you would just end up right back here again. It just seems pointless, my friend, to prolong your suffering so needlessly." Lincoln bit his lip a little as he looked away. Gregory had a point and he knew it. In fact, it's a point he had been worried about this whole time. Where was he going to go when he got back? "I'm right, aren't I?"

"No, you're not!" Lori exclaimed, nearly smashing her fist into the glass orb.

"I won't deny...that does have me concerned," Lincoln confessed.

"You see, my friend. So why torture yourself like that? You don't deserve that."

"Maybe not...but I don't deserve to lose my soul either," The one son shot back. "It may not be the best choice I have to make, but given the choice, I'll take my chances with reality."

"...well, how do you suppose you're going to accomplish that, hmmm?" Gregory asked, a hint of anger in his tone. "It isn't like sneaking out of your room when grounded. There is no escape from this world. It would be a lesson in futility."

"You don't say…?" Lincoln replied, his eyes darting to the left and right. It was then he spotted Angel Dog fluttering around a cracked headstone, waving to him. "...well, call me a slow learner!" He said suddenly before he bolted for the angelic canine. The old mouse blinked in surprise and turned to see where he was headed. His eyes grew nearly as big as his own head when he saw her.

"Oh no!"

"Oh, there you are Lincoln!" Angel Dog said with a big smile as she saw him running toward her.

"I'm ready. Please hurry. Gregory is coming," The one son said hastily, jabbing a thumb back toward the old hotel owner hobbling over to them.

"Oh dear! Alright then. Here you go!" The fairy like dog creature waved her wand and, in a flash of light and sparkles, an opening spawned right in front of Lincoln in the ground below him. Inside was a stone staircase leading down into a corridor lined with stone walls, ceiling and floor.

"Mr Loud! You don't want to go down there! Wait!" Gregory cried out, but his cries fell on deaf ears. Lincoln was already rapidly rushing down the passage as fast as he dared. "Oh...damn it all."

"Oh, don't get all bent out of shape," Angel Dog told him with a soft giggle. "After all, I said I would show him a way out…" She continued as she swapped to her devil persona. "...I never said he'd be able to make it out."


	30. Chapter 30: Mental Block

_AN: Almost there. Just two more chapters and an epilogue to go for Gregory Loud Horror Story. They will probably be coming up pretty soon, as I've been planning this ending since I started writing the story._

* * *

Mental Block

"**I want to escape. However, Gregory's words have left a nagging doubt in the back of my mind. Is it really a pointless endeavor?"**

As soon as the white haired boy made it to the bottom of the stairs, he started to run as fast as he could down the darkened tunnel. It was rather odd; there was no source of light anywhere, but the corridor still seemed dimly lit. He wasn't complaining, though, He didn't want to traverse a pitch dark tunnel. The sound of his own footsteps echoed around the underground path as he jetted along. Minutes passed...or did they? Lincoln couldn't tell in this world. However, in time, he spotted something truly strange, even by Gregory House standards. The walls were suddenly lined with several tv screens, all of which showing static. He didn't have time to consider what they were doing there, however. He was willing to bet Gregory was on his trail by now. However, seconds later, he found himself reaching a dead end. "Huh?" He placed his hand on the wall and tried pushing against it. The wall was quite solid stone. "...but there was no other path...I was tricked!" The one son realized, thumping his fist against the wall. His mind started to work on overdrive to try and find a way out of this mess, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Get out of my room, twerp!" Lincoln jumped in shock, his head darting around to find the source of the voice, only to find Lori's scowling face looking at him from one of the screens. He stepped back away from that tv when another face appeared in the picture box behind him.

"Not cool, brah…" Luna said with a disapproving look and a disappointed tone. The middle Loud whipped around to see his third oldest sister frowning at him. Then, more and more images of his family appeared on the many screens.

"It'd be a shame if someone found out about THAT…" Lola said with an evil grin.

"It appears I once more overestimated your mental capacities, elder brother," The image of Lisa deadpanned in a cold manner.

"I have no brother…" Lucy said in a low, furious voice.

"That's another grocery store we have been banned from, thanks to YOU!" His mother stated in a voice of angry disappointment. Lincoln's breath started to quick as he looked around at all the angry faces staring right at him, right as the image of Lily appeared to blow a raspberry at him.

"What's going on now?" Lori asked as she watched her brother looking more and more panicked as now Leni was berating him with Lori for posting that embarrassing video of them all.

"I suspect his memories are being used against him," Haiku answered, her eyes narrowing as Lynn Sr's face appeared to scold his son for clogging the toilet again. "Your harshest words and actions, moments of great pain to Lincoln...he's being forced to experience all at once."

The white haired boy started to sweat as more and more of his family appeared on the televisions, each one beating him down for his mistakes, mocking him for his missteps, and bringing up every moment he felt guiltiest about: pushing Lana into the beauty pageant just for Dairyland tickets, his sisters making fun of his Ace Savvy costume, him snubbing his sisters when he won that limo ride, taking Lynn's bike without permission, Lisa's explanation that the sister fight protocol could only have ended after Lincoln left the house and stopped trying to help.

"That's out brother! Captain of the FAIL boat! Hahahaha!" Luan's screen quipped, which made all of the other digitized members of his family laugh along with her. Lincoln's eyes were starting to fill with tears.

"You are, literally, the worst brother EVER!" The Lori on tv snapped, her words making the middle Loud flinch as if he had been punched in the stomach.

"What!? I never said that!" The real Lori said defensively when Haiku and her sisters all turned to look at her, the taller of the goth's narrowed eyes glaring daggers at her.

"And I never made that joke either! What gives!?" The family joker inquired.

"It's getting worse…" Lucy ascertained, wiping the tears hidden behind her hair. "Now it's creating false memories…" He slowly turned to her gothic friend. "...can it do that?"

"...all too easily, sadly."

"Linc! Don't listen to them!" Lana yelled into the crystal ball. "It's not real!"

"Fight it, bro!" Luna tried to encourage him.

"You're stronger than that, Lincoln!" Lynn told him at the top of her voice. However, as they tried to be heard, the voices of the televised sisters simply increased in volume to drown them out. What's worse, they were saving the big guns for last.

"Get away from me!" Lynn's voice sounded through the darkness. "You're bad luck!" Lincoln went pale as he turned to face the frightened face of his sporty sister on the largest screen closest to him. "You're bad luck! You're bad luck!" She kept repeating, loud enough to hurt Lincoln's ears. He tried to cover them with his hands, but it did no good. Now the rest of the family started in on that; accusing him of bad luck, leaving him out of everything, kicking him out of his own room, out of the house. The one son was forced to his knees, tears running down his face from his tightly closed eyelids. About this time, Gregory came hobbling over, looking at all the televisions and shaking his head.

"Sigh...I tried to warn you, my friend." The old rat said in faux sympathy, strolling over to put a wrinkled, furry hand onto his shoulder. "Reality is a cruel thing, much like your family. They exist simply to make you suffer...why would you want to return to that?" Lincoln slowly looked back at him, his eyes red and watery. "Why not return to Gregory House? You look exhausted in every sense of the word. You need to rest. Go back to your room, get some sleep, and just give up…"

_Just give up…_

_Just give up…_

_Give up…_

_Give up…_

_Never give up…_

"You never give up…" Another familiar voice said. In spite of how soft it was, it seemed to sound about the din of the false family. Lincoln blinked, the tears in his eyes spilling out before he turned to the source: a screen with Ronnie Anne's face.

"Ronnie Anne?" He managed to choke out.

"Who?" The old rat asked, looking in the same direction as his unwilling guest. The one son crawled over to the screen for closer inspection. He remembered this moment: it was when they went to get ice cream, after he lost that dollar to Lola.

* * *

"I think that's your most admirable trait, Lame-o." She told him as the two shared a sundae between them. Since Lincoln could only afford one ice cream, he was going to go without. However, the tough girl decided to share the sundae with him, so they could still enjoy it together. "You never give up. Life knocks you down, you get right back up again. You make a mistake, you fight to make it right again. You put your mind to something, there's no stopping you...even if it's not always the best idea." The two of them laughed lightly as two spoons made a move for the cherry on top. RA and Lincoln look to one another and grin, starting to sword fight with their spoons. After a few seconds of clashing flatware and giggling, Lincoln managed to slip the little red fruit from the top of the sundae. He smirked at Ronnie Anne in victory with the cherry in his spoon, only for the Latina to lean forward and clamp her mouth onto his spoon. When he pulled it out of her mouth, the cherry was gone. She smirked back at him, sticking her tongue out at him in a teasing manner.

* * *

"You never give up." Ronnie Anne said again as the false family started to fade into static again.

"Wh...what's happening?" Gregory asked, looking around at all the blank screens. Just then, Lori's face returned to one of the televisions.

"Don't give up, Lincoln!" She told him.

"Keep fighting Linky!" Leni encouraged him next.

"Never surrender!" His musical sister sang out loudly.

"Your will is superior to his, elder brother," The genius toddler informed him. Lincoln could hardly believe his ears. Where was all this coming from?

"You can do it, Lincoln!" The twins called out together, sharing a screen.

"Don't you listen, Mr Loud," Gregory spoke up, starting to panic a little. "They don't know what they're talking about!"

"Ah, shut up, you dusty old rat!" Lynn snapped at him, completely shocking the elderly rodent.

'How is it interacting with me like that!? It isn't supposed to be doing that!' Gregory thought to himself. '...they must be speaking to him directly from reality! But how are they doing it!? And how did they find us!?'

"Don't stop now, Lincoln! You're on the home stretch!" The sporty Loud then told her brother. 'At least, I think he is.'

"Inkin!" The baby Loud called out to him.

"Do not succumb to the darkness, big brother." Lucy said, in a slightly more choked up monotone.

"Show that mousy mook you're no joke!" Luan cheered him on. With the words of encouragement from his family, he slowly started to get back to his feet. The memory of Ronnie Anne faded from the screen with a smile, but not until she said,

"You put your mind to something, there's no stopping you…"

"No...no...Don't listen, my friend!" Gregory pleaded with his once captive guest.

"Stand tall, Lincoln," Lori told him. "And remember…"

"Louds never quit!" All nine of his sisters exclaimed in unison. Lily tried to join in, but it just came out as adorable babbling.

"Louds…" Lincoln started to say, quietly at first, but with his voice raising with each word. "...Never. Say. Die!" As he shouted that last word, the wall before him started to crumble and fall, revealing the path ahead. Ignoring the continued desperate pleas of Gregory, Lincoln charged forward, filled with a new sense of determination.

"No!" The eldery hotel owner screamed. "This wasn't supposed to happen this way!" He stamped his feet on the stone floor in a tantrum before he roared. "That does it! No more Mr Nice Guy! Now the kid gloves come off!"


	31. Chapter 31: The Ultimate Decision

The Ultimate Decision

**"I'm almost out! I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. However, it feels like something is holding me back…"**

Fueled by the encouraging words of his family, Lincoln continued to run down the corridor, paying no mind to the raging rodent now far behind. In his mind, there was very little that could stop him now. As he moved further through the tunnel, the more it seemed to open up. The ceiling grew higher, the walls moved further away from him, even the floor seemed to distance itself from him, the young man running along some kind of bridge made of light. He wasn't sure how this was working, but now was not the time to put a lot of thought into it. Up ahead, he could see a faint light. Can't stop now. However, the further longer he went, the more resistance he felt. It was as if something was pulling him back the closer he got to the light. A swirling mist was rolling in from ahead, making it impossible to see what was below the platform. Darkness surrounded him in all other directions, apart from in front of him. Around half way there, the one son was straining to move even a single step. Such was the effort that he was quickly getting tired, when he felt a chill down his spine and heard the ringing of a bell. He looked to the left and the right, and spotted something that terrified him to his very core. Floating toward him was a skeletal being in a black robe, a large scythe, and a small square hat on his skull...marked like the Swedish flag? The white haired boy probably would have found this more odd if he weren't scared out of his wits as the Grim Reaper floated over to him. 'Is this really happening right now?' He wondered, as he struggled to put one foot in front of the other. 'Is this how it's going to happen…?'

"Well, hello there," The specter of death said, in such a friendly voice that Lincoln was completely taken aback. "The latest check out from Gregory House, I suspect?"

"Uh...yes, sir," The young man replied, kind of befuddled. "Or at least...I'm trying."

"Having a little trouble, eh? Want to know why?" The wraith pointed his scythe back from where Lincoln had come from. His eyes followed the weapon, where he noticed a kind of glistening white, ethereal cord attached to his back. He looked further up the cord and his eyes widened in shock as he saw a large, ghostly mouse with hollow black eyes moving along the connection as if he was scaling a mountain.

"My friend! Where are you going!?" Gregory called out.

"Good grief. Doesn't he ever give up?"

"Nope," The reaper answered simply. "For as long as I've known him, he's been one persistent bastard." The middle Loud grabbed hold of the spiritual connector in his back and pulled as hard as he could. "Save your energy, kid. You aren't getting rid of that that easily," Death informed him. "You may be trying to get out, but you clearly have a doubt somewhere in you. That doubt is all that's connecting you to Gregory's world." He raised his scythe. "Now, I can sever that connection for you, if you want. It's up to you, but you need to decide now."

"Mr Loud, don't do it." The spectral rodent pleaded with him, a little more than halfway to him.

"Why not?" Lincoln replied angrily. "Why would I stay someplace where I'm going to lose my soul?"

"Well said, Lincoln." Lucy said as she, her sisters, and Haiku watched this all take place through her crystal ball. The image was kind of snowy, as they were in a realm between Gregory's and the living world. The connection was much weaker there.

"Where else do you have to go, Mr Loud? You don't have a home to go back to."

"Yes he does!" Lola protested loudly, though neither could hear her.

Lincoln refused to respond to that, at least out loud. 'I may not be able to return to home...but I could probably stay for a little while with Pop Pop or Clyde. It's not ideal, but it's something,' He thought to himself, a thought he had been mulling over since he had knocked the wall down. Seeing that strategy wasn't working, the spectral vermin tried something different.

"Your family hates you, Mr Loud!" He bellowed at the young man before him.

"Don't act like you know anything about that, Gregory," The one son shot back with pure venom.

"...I know your family hates you, Lincoln." Gregory told him, in a serious and saddened tone. The one son turned with fury to face the eyeless spirit, who was almost right in his face. "I know...because I have a family that hates me." Lincoln blinked in surprise, his anger fading somewhat. "Yes, it's true, my friend. My family hates me..." The elderly hotel owner continued, coming to hover a few feet from the human boy.

"C...come on, Gregory...that can't…"

"Oh, but it is true. You've seen how Mama treats me. How she speaks to me. And James, my own grandson...he delights in torturing me. In causing me pain." He looked into the eyes of the white haired boy, who was looking back with sympathy. The ghostly mouse's eyes started to glow a sickly red. "Do you call that love, Mr Loud? Do you call that respect? Because I certainly do not." He continued as Lincoln started to fall into a kind of trance.

"Damn it all…" Haiku hissed, her eyes narrowing. "He's playing to his heart…"

"That can't be true, right?" The oldest of the Loud siblings inquired of the concerned goth.

"Sadly, I think it may be." She answered flatly. "And that's the worst and most frightening part of this." Lori's pupils shrank as she looked back to the orb.

"Lincoln! Don't listen to him!"

"Save your breath. He can't hear us in there. I'm surprised we even have the visual connection we do have…" The taller goth rose from her spot on the floor, moving over to Lincoln's body. "There's nothing we can do to help him from here…"

"No...but we can him from there," Lynn said, also getting to her feet.

"What!?" Her sisters exclaimed all at once.

"But you heard what-" Luan started, but the family athlete cut her right off.

"Yeah. I know the risks, but you know what? I don't give a rat's ass." Almost all her siblings gasped in shock, Leni hastily covering Lily's ears. "I'm done just sitting or standing and watching," she said firmly as she stepped over to Haiku, looking her right in the eye, her fists clenched. "Right now, my baby brother needs help, and you are going to help me help him, or so help me…" She raised a trembling fist between the goth girl and herself, furious tears welling up in her eyes as Haiku looked back with a stone faced expression.

Death watched as this scene unfolded with a frown. He could see what was going on, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. The most he could do in this situation was to cut the bond between Lincoln and Gregory at Lincoln's request. 'There are times the rules are a hindrance,' he thought to himself, his frustration building up. Just then, he heard something curious; the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. He turned his skull in the direction of the steps, curious what that was.

"You see, my friend...I know a hateful family when I see and hear it...but my family likes you. Mama may have wanted your soul, but she was impressed by your cleverness, and James really enjoyed his time playing with you." He placed a spectral hand on his shoulder. "Come back with me, Mr Loud. You, me, Mama, James...WE can be a family."

"He's got a family, creep!" Gregory jumped in surprise as the sound of a familiar voice caused Lincoln to flinch and snap out of the trance. They both turned their attention to the source; Lynn springing into the air and drawing back her fist as she flew toward the oversized rodent spirit. Before he could even process what he was seeing, she punched him with all her might right in the snout.

"OWWWWWUCH!" Gregory wailed as he was sent spinning end over end back toward his own realm, holding his nose.

"L...Lynn?" Her brother asked in a daze.

"Come on, bro! Let's move!" She told him, taking his hand and trying to run back toward the light. However, she was stopped short. Lincoln hadn't budged an inch. "Linc, what-?" She started to ask, but stopped when she saw the look on his face. He was feeling a tidal wave of emotions right now: surprise, wonder, sadness, anger, fear, among others. And all of them were showing on his face almost simultaneously. What Lynn saw, however, was the fear and anger. The anger she felt she deserved. She thought the reason he wasn't moving was because of her. Her eyes started to mist up again, a sight the one son rarely, if ever, saw in his tough sister. "Lincoln…please…"

The white haired boy just stared at her for a full second, as Gregory finally stopped his spin and was recovering from being dizzy. His mind was as conflicted as his emotions. However, there was one thing his own brain could agree with him on. His face hardened, which made Lynn even more worried, but then he turned to Death. "Sever the connection!"

"You got it, kid!" The Grim Reaper swiftly raised his blade and, with a single slash, cut through the ghostly binding like a hot knife through butter.

"Thanks. Come on, Lynn." Lincoln said quickly before he started to run.

"Right. Let's blow this rat traAACK!" Lynn's sentence was interrupted by the feeling of something wrapping around her neck, almost completely cutting off her airway. Her brother skidded to a stop when he heard her choke, looking back with alarm. The ghost of Gregory had wrapped the cord that once connected him to Lincoln around her throat and was trying to pull her to him, strangling her in the process.

"LYNN!"

"Cough...keep going, Linc…" She choked out as she struggled to get away. However, between being caught off guard and being pretty darn hungry (she was really regretting skipping dinner at this point), she didn't have the power to pull free. "Run and-gasp-don't look back…"

"Well well...quite the conundrum, isn't it 'my friend'..." Gregory asked in a sinister manner, saying 'my friend' quite derisively. "What's it going to be? Are you going to run away and leave your sister to me? The sister responsible for you even being here? Or will you give yourself up to save her? Hm hm hm hm…"

"Cough cough...don't worry...about me, Lincoln. Save yourself."

"You be quiet!" The old rat snapped, tightening his grip on her throat. Time seemed to freeze for Lincoln as he witnessed his sister struggling to breathe and Gregory taking almost sadistic glee in what he was doing.

"_...you will be forced to make the ultimate decision,_" The voice of the Frog Fortuneteller sounded in his own head.

"_Do you forgive her, Lincoln Loud?_" The voice of Judgement Boy Gold asked in his mind. "_Or will you tell her that her crime is unforgivable? The time to decide has come. JUDGEMENT….NOW!_" He felt a warm, throbbing sensation in his pocket after the giant judge had his say mentally. Lincoln reached into his pocket and pulled out the crystal heart. It was pulsing with pink light, like a real heart.

'...I would forgive her.' He thought to himself as he stared into the heart. 'Maybe not right away, but eventually, I would.' His mind was set and his course was clear. He looked back up and quickly reached into his other pocket, drawing Cactus Girl's pop gun. "I hope this fits…" He muttered as he jammed the crystalline heart into the barrel. It was a tight fit, but it fit. He rapidly pumped the back of it, glancing up at his sister and the villainous rodent. Lynn's face was turning a deep red from lack of air, and Gregory was snickering his evil chuckle. "Hey Gregory! Have a heart!" The middle Loud shouted as he raised the gun and opened fire.

"Oh please, Mr Loud…" The giant ghost rodent scoffed, slowly looking away from his current victim. "Do you really think pleading for your souls will-" He started to ask, just as the heart hit him right between the eyes, shattering and sending tiny, sharp crystal particles all over his face. "AGH! MY EYES! MY EYES!" Gregory screeched in anguish, covering his eyes. His spectral tail unwrapped from around Lynn's throat. She coughed and gasped for air, rubbing her reddened neck as her brother dashed over to her and grabbed her hand. With Lincoln taking the lead, the two of them ran toward the light.

* * *

Back at the Loud House, everyone was on edge. Not only was Lincoln laying motionless on Lola's bed, but so was Lynn, slumped over on the mattress while sitting on a chair beside it. Haiku was standing between the sporty Loud and the crystal ball, her eyes closed and her hands extended between them. With the lack of time, she couldn't create a protective totem for her, so she had to act as a tether for her soul. Not ideal, but the best they could do. All was silent for a few minutes from the moment Lynn had passed out. Then, a glistening, silvery white ball emerged from Lucy's orb, hovering over it for a moment before darting toward the crowd of sisters. They all (apart from Lucy) stepped back from it out of concern as a second one flew out of the crystal ball. "W...what is that?" Luna asked.

"A soul." The little goth answered as she looked right into the floating essence. "Whether it's Lincoln's or Lynn's, I can't tell." The two souls seemed to be zipping around in random directions, like a pair of flies for a few seconds, before the first ethereal sphere made a beeline for Lincoln's body. His unconscious form shuddered a bit as the soul re-entered his body, the second essence soon diving into Lynn's body. Neither moved for like a second before their brother groaned and slowly sat up. Lola, Lana, Lily and Leni's eyes all widened with joy as smiles started to spread on their faces. They (along with Luna, Luan and Lori) were about to rush over to him, but Lisa held out a hand to stop them.

"Siblings, let us not rush our brother so hastily. We do not know whether the reentry process for a human soul has any adverse effects upon him." The toddler genius said before she turned to Lincoln. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah...I think so…" He replied, rubbing his head. "...where's Lincoln?" The nine Loud sisters blinked when he asked that question.

"Ugh...present." Lynn replied as she sat up, rubbing her head. "...never would have thought that reuniting body and soul could be such a head-" The words caught in her throat as she looked up at Lincoln and he looked back at her, expressions of horror on their faces. They slowly looked to their family and Haiku, pointing at one another.

"...what am I doing over there?" They asked in unison.


	32. Chapter 32: Together Again

_AN: One more epilogue chapter to go. It'll take a bit, since it's going to include Lincoln spending time with each member of his family, as well as tying up some loose ends, but will hopefully be well worth it. On a side note: question: Do you think I over rated this series? By that, I mean do you think it was worth rating it M?_

_Edit: Making adjustments to the ending of the chapter. Will explain in the next chapter._

* * *

Together again

It didn't take long for Lynn and Lincoln to realize what had happened and, upon discovering their souls were in the wrong bodies, they both started screaming. "I can't believe this! I can't spend the rest of my life in Lincoln's body!" The panicked athlete exclaimed through Lincoln's mouth. "His body isn't used to the activity I'm used to…"

"And I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of going through puberty in someone else's body." The one son said via his sister's mouth. "Least of all my own sister's…"

"I...uh...think we all literally can agree with that," Lori said, but before anyone could even begin to figure out what to do, a strange sound met their ears. It sounded like someone...giggling? All eyes turned to Haiku, who was softly giggling into her hand.

"What's so funny!?" The short tempered athlete asked, glowering at her.

"You have to admit...it is somewhat humorous that you ended up in your brother's body," Haiku answered without an ounce of fear. "Kind of poetic justice, actually." Upon hearing her logic, Lucy had to stifle a giggle of her own, and Luan started to grin as well. Even the one son in Lynn's body chuckled lightly when he really thought about it.

"Well, I don't see the humor in it!" Lynn shouted, though with Lincoln's voice.

"Calm down. This is an easy enough thing to fix." Lucy piped up.

"It is?" The two misplaced souls asked in utter surprise.

"It is?" Seven of their sisters inquired.

"Poo poo?" Lily added in.

"Of course. Out of all the things that could have gone wrong, this was the best case scenario. You just need to give your souls time to rest, and we can put them back in their proper bodies once you've recovered," She explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Haiku gave a small nod in confirmation

"Oh…" Lynn slowly laid Lincoln's body back down on Lola's bed, calming down slightly. "Sorry, Haiku...I...just kind of freaked out there." The tall goth simply nodded slightly before she departed from the room to retrieve the book she left in Lucy's room. Just then, Lincoln started to laugh lightly. "...ok, what's so funny now?"

"We escaped," He answered using Lynn's voice. "After everything Gregory threw at me...Catherine, the doll girl, James...after he tried to take you in my place...we both escaped, and he ended with nothing but a sore nose and glass in the eyes." As he elaborated what was so funny to him, his mirth grew more and more. As the reality that they really had escaped hit her, Lynn started giggling as well. With the two of them laughing, the rest of the family started joining in. Their brother was back!...in the wrong body, yes, but that would be fixed soon enough. The worst was behind them now, and they could start moving forward.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Gregory screamed as his spirit suddenly emerged from the crystal ball, looking absolutely livid.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Most of the Loud siblings screamed in fright, Lynn and Lincoln clinging to each other out of reflex and fear.

"...oops." Lucy muttered to herself when she realized she hadn't closed the connection on her crystal ball. Hearing their screams, Haiku ran back to the room, but quickly ducked out of sight when she saw the fiendish mouse man floating there. She couldn't risk being seen by him.

"You stupid mortals!" The wrathful old hotel owner snapped as he turned to look at Lincoln and Lynn. "Did you honestly think it would be that easy to escape me!?"

"...would it shock you if we said yes?" 'Lincoln' asked.

"Ha! All you did was give me a backdoor into your lives. I could haunt you both at my leisure. You'll never know a moment's peace, a good night's sleep, a-" In the middle of his monologue, he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Not now. I'm threatening someone," He said dismissively before he continued, "-now where was I? Oh yes. I will break down your wills and spirits until-" Once more, his shoulder was tapped, only more forcefully. "Oh, what do y-" He turned angrily to see who was bothering him, only to stare into the faces of several VERY ANGRY Loud sisters. "-ooooooooou seem like a lot more people in person…" He whimpered as he realized just how outnumbered he was.

"We get that a lot from cowardly bullies who think they can menace our siblings and emerge unscathed," Lisa deadpanned, her arms folded in front of her.

"You were saying before we rudely interrupted?" Lori inquired, cracking her knuckles.

"...oh. W-what? Did you...did you think I was serious?" Gregory nervously backpedalled, giving a fearful chuckle as he floated back beside the two who had just evaded his grasp.

"We kinda did, yeah." Lana informed him as she held her pipe wrench in her hand, glaring at the rodent before her.

"Oh no no no no no!" He swung his arms back and forth as he gave a nervous laugh. "You've got me all wrong, ladies...I would never harm a hair on Mr Loud's chinny chin chin…" He reached over to pat the white haired boy on the head to emphasize his point.

"I'm over here." The middle Loud told him through his sister's mouth.

"Huh? Oh." He quickly moved his hand to ruffle Lynn's hair. "Hm hm hm. See? I was just joshing. Mr Loud is my friend."

"Lincoln, I think it's time for your 'friend' to go home." The oldest of the sisters said sternly.

"I agree. He's worn out his welcome." Her brother agreed. The gothic Loud stepped over to the crystal ball, sitting cross legged before it and looking deep into it.

"Unwelcome visitor from another realm, I banish you back from where you came," She chanted, the fog in her orb turning a deep purple. "Return to your cursed home. Their souls are not yours to claim." The mist within started to spin and swirl as a powerful force started to pull Gregory toward the sphere. He offered no resistance, as he was too afraid of Lincoln's sisters to stick around. The moment his ghostly tail touched the crystal surface, he started to spin as he got sucked in. Faster and faster with each second.

"I'll keep a room ready for yooooooooooou!" He called out as he was effectively flushed back to the realm between the living and Gregory House.

"You'll be keeping it for a long time, because I'm never coming back!" Lincoln shouted toward him before he vanished completely.

* * *

Gregory groaned as he reeled and held his head, very dizzy from his forced dismissal from the land of the living. Once he recovered, he glared toward where the light used to be and huffed indignantly. "I wasn't speaking to you anyway, 'my friend'..." He growled as he started to drift back toward home, defeated.

* * *

With Gregory evicted from their home, Lucy made sure to break the connection her crystal ball had established so he couldn't just come right back. "...that was close," She commented after she sighed with relief.

"Ah, it wasn't that close," Lola said with a big grin. "One look at us made him turn tail."

"I think he just about wet his pants," Her dirtier twin chimed in, making the lot of them laugh.

"Here's hoping that's the last we ever see of him," The one son said, wiping Lynn's forehead.

"Here here!" His musically inclined sister exclaimed in agreement. As the thrill of escaping Gregory House and the fright of Gregory appearing inside their house started to fade, Lincoln started to really think about his situation. He was home again...the home he had been kicked out of. He had expected his sisters to want to eject him from the house again for fear his 'bad luck' would affect them. But instead, they were all gathered around him and Lynn, checking the both of them over and bombarding them with questions. They didn't at all seem concerned about this supposed jinx that terrified them a few short days ago; they seemed concerned for him. Or perhaps they were waiting until he was back in his own body. He couldn't be sure. His concerns were starting to show on Lynn's face as he started to frown. A look Lori was quick to pick up on.

"Lincoln…"

"I know...once I'm in my proper body...out I go…" He responded sullenly.

"No, Lincoln. You're not going anywhere," Lynn told him before she took hold of her own arm. Lincoln's body shuddered when he

"She's right, Lincoln. The only place you're going is back to your own room," Lori informed him. "...well, once we get it back, that is…" She added, looking pretty guilty.

"Yeah, bro...and...we're sorry about everything…" Luna added, standing toward the back of the crowd of sisters, looking so very blue. His sisters all nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. For the whole 'believing you were bad luck' thing…" Leni interjected, misty eyed as she threw her arms around Lincoln. She had forgotten about how their souls were in the wrong body, but no one had the heart to correct her. Her heart was in the right place, after all.

"...the ostracization…" Lisa piped up.

"...pushing your soul to Gregory House…" Lucy added in.

"...and especially kicking you out of your room, and the house." Lori concluded, kneeling right in front of 'Lynn'. "It was an incredibly stupid, thoughtless, awful…"

"Immoral…?" Lincoln suggested before he could stop himself, making his sisters flinch (which also made him feel kinda bad in the process, though he tried not to let it show).

"Yeah...that too…immoral thing to do..." The eldest sister agreed, fearing this was a sign of things to come.

"You may have lied about being bad luck…" Luan said. "...but that doesn't make it anywhere near right. Like Luna said, we're really sorry, Lincoln."

"Can you find it in your heart to forgive us, Linky?" Lola asked, trying to look as sad and cute. Through Lynn's eyes, he looked at each and every one of his sisters. He had considered this for a while, but he had decided on his answer before he had returned.

"No…" In the microsecond after he said that, his sisters reacted. Lana, Lola, Leni, Luna and Lily all started tearing up, looking ready to start bawling. Luan and Lucy both look wounded deeply. Lori, Lisa and Lynn didn't seem surprised, though Lori couldn't deny hearing that it hurt to hear it right from his own mouth. "Let me finish." He said hastily, before the waterworks could start. "...at least, not yet. I appreciate the apology, but after what happened…"

"We understand, Lincoln," Lucy said in a monotone, gently placing a hand on Lynn's knee.

"Indeed. Many of us suspected a simple apology would be insufficient to make up for such an infraction." The genius toddler agreed with a nod.

"But we'll do our darnedest to make it right, Linc." The oldest sister told him. The one son looked among all of his sisters for a moment with a blank expression. They certainly looked and sounded like they were sorry. However, he had heard his sisters say that before, but not really learn their lesson. He would need to see for himself whether they will change or not, but he would give them that chance. Besides, he had things he needed to make up for as well...but he wasn't about to tell them that. That was something he was keeping to himself, not knowing they had heard his early discussion with Cactus Girl. However, when the time was right, when he was certain they were sincere, then he would act. Haiku watched this all take place quietly from the doorway. It would take a while for all of their wounds to heal, but it looked like the process was starting.

'And with Gregory out of the way, I think everything will be just fine for them…in time,' She thought to herself.


	33. Chapter 33: Healing Process Begins

_AN: My sincerest apologies to those who have waited for this chapter. I know it took waaaaaay too long for such a short chapter, but, as it has been happening a lot with me lately, I ran into a wall for parts of this chapter. Thankfully, with working on it in bits and pieces and a nudge here and there, I managed to get through it. Also, I know I promised this would be the conclusion, but with as much trouble as this little bit gave me, trying to do a whole chapter with ALL of the Louds getting their chance to make up with Lincoln...it would have taken me even longer, so I've decided to cut this chapter into segments, so you (hopefully) don't have to wait too long to see the finale, and I won't get burned out trying to write it, like what almost happened in "Home Again, Home Again" from Lincoln Loud and The Ghoul School. Thank you all for your patience, and enjoy the story._

_Edit: After pondering the words of Mysterious Mr M, I decided I'm going to start the ending chapters over. He was right; things were going too easy for almost all of the family for what they had done. I was rushing through in order to finish this story and begin on the sequel, and that seriously damaged the story. Therefore, I'm going to start again. Technically, I started at the end of the previous chapter (to better set the stage for how the new chapters will come), but figured I would put this major news edit here, since it will be the latest chapter soon enough. I'm going to take my time a little more on this run; go a little more in detail into each member of the family trying to help Lincoln, get into some of the inner demons they'll be fighting along the way, the sacrifices they'll make for him, etc. It will take time, of course, but hopefully not too much initially. I think I can salvage some parts of the original healing process chapters for some characters, but for others, I'll have to start from scratch. However, if it makes for a better conclusion, then so be it. My apologies for those who were looking forward to seeing the end of the story, but I don't want to end up putting out a half assed, sub par ending for a story I've been doing so well on up to this point._

* * *

The Healing Process Begins

It took about an hour of rest before Lynn and Lincoln's souls were rested enough for the two of them to begin the process of returning their souls to their proper body. Fortunately, the process wasn't too complicated: they just needed to perform a voluntary out of body experience, while Lucy and Leni gently guided their spirits back to their proper bodies. "Thank goodness…" Lynn said, a small smile appearing on her face as she looked at her own hands. "Back in my own body…" She added before she thought, 'I don't think I could have looked myself in the face if I stayed in Linc's body..'

"I'm more glad to out of Gregory's-" Lincoln started to say, but then he paused when he felt something beside him. He moved the blanket aside to reveal Cactus Girl's Pop Gun right at his side. His sisters gaped in surprise at the sight; even Lucy and Haiku looked floored by this revelation.

"Did he bring that...from Gregory's place?" Luan asked, uncertain what to make of that. "Can he do that?"

"Apparently…" Lucy's fellow Young Mortician replied. "I suppose you do learn something new every day." The one son picked the training weapon up, looking it over for a moment before he smiled lightly. His time at Gregory House, he would like to forget without a doubt; however, if there was one thing he'd like to remember, it was the Cactus Siblings.

'Speaking of remembering…' He thought to himself as he set the pump revolver aside. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I definitely don't want to remember what brought us to this point…"

"Trust me, brah...you're not the only one," Luna told him, somewhat lacking her usual energy. The rest of their sisters seemed to share the same sentiment.

"In that case, I think we should all promise to NEVER speak of the luck fiasco again...especially not in public."

"Won't hear any arguments from me there…" Lynn commented.

"I think I speak for the entire family unit when I say that would be for the best," The toddler genius said, most of the sisters nodding in agreement.

"Haiku, you would keep it a secret as well, won't you?" The little goth asked her taller friend.

"It will accompany me to my grave," She replied, which was a true relief for the oldest of the younger sisters. "And with that, I feel it is my time to depart," She added, tucking her book under her arm.

"Thank you for everything, Haiku," The white haired boy said to her, getting a slight smile in return.

"You're quite welcome," She replied, before she turned a serious look onto the sisters. She didn't say a word, but she made almost every one of the siblings flinch before she turned and strolled right out of the door. Lincoln tried to rise from Lola's bed, but Lisa hastily ran forward to coax him to lay back down.

"You should rest, Lincoln," The second youngest of them all told him. "After all, between your living form recovering from near death and the transference of souls...I cannot believe I not only just said that, but bore witness to it."

"...you really need to rest is the point, Lincoln," Leni finished the thought for Lisa, reaching out to tuck him back in.

"Maybe...but what about when it's time for bed?"

"We'll move you to our room," Lynn volunteered, getting a surprised look from her brother. "You can stay there, in my bed, until we get your room straightened out. I'll just sleep on the couch." The white haired boy opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "This isn't up for debate, Linc...it's the least I can do after…" she bit her tongue before she could finish that thought, looking away from him. After all, they just promised to never speak of it again. Lincoln considered this for a moment. On one hand, she was the one responsible for him getting kicked out, for having no room to go to, for ending up in Gregory's realm to begin with. On the other hand, she was the only one who had gone right into said realm in order to help him. She almost ended up being choked and taken by the soul stealing rodent as a result. Could he really take her bed in this case?

'...it is a nice gesture,' He thought to himself as he looked into Lynn's almost pleading eyes. '...and judging by what she said, she isn't taking no for an answer anyway. I suppose I could stay here...just for a little while, of course.' He gave her a small nod It was at that point Lincoln and Lynn's stomachs growled loudly. His body hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast, and his soul only had half a plate of eggs and a few snacks, so he was almost starving. As for Lynn, she had skipped dinner. Upon hearing that, Lola, Lana and Luan sprang into action, hurrying downstairs to get them some dinner for them while Lori and Leni helped him out of the bed.

* * *

Back out on the road, Rita was driving Vanzilla back toward the Loud House. Their quest to reclaim Lincoln's sold possessions had been less than successful. They got most of his clothes, a handful of his video games with the console, a few of his toys, and his muscle fish clock. Hardly anything, compared to what was sold. It wasn't from lack of trying, though. They fought and begged with the buyers to get it all back, but most of them either already resold the stuff, gifted them or simply refused to return them. She glanced up at the rear view mirror when she stopped at a red light and sighed at the sad little pile. She then turned to her husband in the passenger seat. He looked even sadder, staring out into the dark of night with misty eyes. She definitely couldn't blame him; hearing their son's candid discussion with Cactus Girl was a rather sobering moment. She had always thought she had been a good mother, or at the very least fair. This whole bad luck nonsense alone gave her serious second thoughts. How could they do that to one of their own children? Such a thought was enough to bring her to tears just as the light turned green. "...we did our best, Rita," Her husband said in an attempt to help her feel better (while feeling utterly rotten himself).

"I know, Lynn...but it wasn't enough," She answered. She had to pull over to the side because she could hardly see through her tears. "How could we do it? How could we have been so...so…?"

"Stupid…?" He suggested. "I don't know...but damn do I ever feel stupid...among other things…"

"Treated him like he was diseased...cast him out of the house...sold his belongings...pushed him to that horrible place...and now we can't even get back a portion of his possessions…" The Loud mother buried her face into her arms on the steering wheel as she cried. "...as parents, we've failed!" On one hand, the Loud patriarch wanted to agree and join her by bawling his eyes out. However, he knew that wasn't what she needed right now.

"...n-now hold on, honey…" He started, putting a hand on her shoulder. "There's no doubt we screwed up. Anyone can see that. And maybe things aren't going so well in our attempt to make it right...However, we haven't failed until we stop trying to fix what we broke...and we are trying. We aren't doing too well, I admit...but we are trying." His wife slowly turned to look at him.

"...you're right, dear. We are trying…" She replied, albeit glumly.

"And it's not the end of the world if we can't get everything tonight. We can try again in the morning, and the next day, and so on until we can manage it," He pointed out, giving her a weak sort of encouraging smile.

"That's true…" Rita said, wiping away her tears and trying to calm down enough so they could get back on their way. "It's just…"

"I know, Rita. I know," He told her, leaning in to kiss her softly on the cheek. A few minutes later, the family van arrived at the Loud house. The Loud father gathered up what they could collect from the back seat, while the Loud mother went to unlock the door. The moment it was opened, she could see the twins in the kitchen arguing, while Luan seemed to be reheating something. It was almost as if things were back to normal. She sighed a bit, feeling a bit more relaxed before she spoke.

"We're home…" Lola and Lana ceased their verbal altercation when they heard her voice and zipped over to her. They had big smiles on their faces, which surprised her.

"Mom! Guess what! Guess what!" They exclaimed together. She looked at them in confusion, but decided to humor them for the moment. She glanced up the stairs as she tried to think about what it could be, and that's when she saw it: her only son being escorted down the hall to Lynn and Lucy's room by Leni and Lori, and he was awake.

"L-Lincoln!?" She gasped, her eyes starting to mist up again.

"Huh? How'd you guess?" Lana asked in amazement. Lola, on the other hand, looked up the stairs. She sighed, tapped her twin on the shoulder and directed her attention upward, where Lincoln and his older sisters were looking down at them. "...oh." In the blink of an eye, Rita had ran right up the stairs to get to her only son.

"Mom! Wait!" Lori exclaimed, their mother freezing right in the act of attempting to embrace her son. "Easy. His body's still kinda delicate right now."

"R-right...sorry," She responded, right before she threw her arms around Lincoln, tears spilling from her eyes. "Lincoln! I'm so sorry!"

"M-Mom…" He stammered out, weakly hugging her in return. It was then Lynn Sr entered the house, carrying the pile of Lincoln's stuff in his hands. He was about to ask where he should put them when he heard his wife crying. He turned his eyes up toward the upper landing and proceeded to drop what he was carrying in shock. Fortunately, Lana was quick to react, grabbing the system, games and clock before they could hit the ground. Meanwhile, Lynn Sr was even quicker getting up the stairs, embracing the one son along with his wife. Lori wasn't quick enough to stop or warn him this time.

"Honey...you're...squeezing a little too hard…" Rita informed him with a somewhat strained voice.

"I don't mean to! I'm just sohappytoseourlittleboybackandIcan'ttellhimhowsorryIamand-" He blubbered as he sobbed uncontrollably, the rest of what he wanted to say incoherent through his crying.

"Dad...I know...…" Lincoln coughed. "...but this is starting to hurt…" The Loud patriarch's eyes bulged as he hastily released both Rita and Lincoln from his grasp. He tried to babble out an apology, but the white haired boy held up a hand. "I know...you didn't mean to...and I'll be alright...just a little sore."

"Leni, take Lincoln to Lynn's bed so he can rest," The oldest sister instructed, to which the kind hearted blonde nodded and moved the physically and spiritually exhausted along the hall.

"Is he...is he really alright?" Rita asked her as she watched their only son be escorted into the next room.

"As near as we can tell. He just needs some rest," Lori told her.

"How long ago did he wake up?" Lynn Sr wanted to know, as soon as he calmed down a little.

"About an hour or so ago. He almost didn't make it, but Lynn went in there and helped him get out."

"Wait...how did Junior…?" Her father started to ask.

"I don't think that's important right now...the important part is Lincoln's back home and...Lynn did make it back as well, yes?" The Loud mother asked, hopeful.

"Yeah. She's still in Lola and Lana's room." Lori pointed toward the twin's bedroom. Now, came the all important question to both Rita and Lynn Sr.

"Is...Lincoln willing to forgive us?" They asked, a hint of pleading in their voice. The look of sadness on their oldest daughter's face made them brace themselves for the worst.

"Not yet," She finally said. "He will eventually, he said...but for this...it will take time."

"...at least there's some hope for forgiveness...it's more than I could have hoped for…" Rita said with a sigh. '...and probably more than we deserve.' She thought to herself.

"One other thing you should know," Lori commented. "While you were gone, we all agreed that we would never speak of this catastrophe again, especially not in public." Both parents sighed with relief when they heard that.

"That's a very good idea…" The Loud father agreed. "Lincoln included?"

"It was his idea," Lori told them with a smile. This got her some very surprised looks. "Seriously. It was he who suggested that we keep this quiet for the rest of our days. Even Haiku agreed to it." This was even more of a relief for the parents, as she was the only one outside of the family (that they knew of) who knew about this whole debacle. "So let's let it stay in the past, and work toward doing better in the future, right?"

"Right," Lynn Sr and Rita agreed together.

"By the way, how'd your hunt go?" She asked, leaning to one side to see what the twins were holding. Her smile faded slightly at what little there was.

"...yeah, that's about how we felt about it…" Her mother admitted, being reminded of how little they were able to collect bringing her right back down again.

"It's a start…" The eldest of the children pointed out. "...and a decent one too."

"We plan to try again tomorrow, after work," The aspiring chef told her. "Before too, if we can swing it."

"Well, even if you can't, I'm sure Lincoln will appreciate all the work you're both putting in to try and get his stuff back," Lori said optimistically to them, giving them both a reassuring path on the shoulder. They tried to give their eldest daughter a smile in return, but they just couldn't.

"Hot stuff, coming up," Luan called out as she carried two trays of the leftovers from dinner in her hands. The path was cleared pretty quickly for her, Lori directing her to where Lincoln was taken and where Lynn was currently.


	34. Chapter 34: The First Steps

_AN: Alright. This first chapter is just going to be some set up describing the direction the Loud children will be going, followed by each of them getting their own chapters describing how they'll get there. I'll get to the parents soon enough, with both of them getting their own chapters as well. Also, I'm considering dropping the idea of a separate sequel, and simply continuing on with this story until it reaches its final conclusion._

* * *

The first steps

Over the next several days since his return, it became quite clear that the damage to Lincoln's soul from Gregory House was more substantial to his physical body than they thought. He was quite sluggish, had dark rings appearing around his eyes and he looked like death warmed over. Naturally, this was a cause of much concern the first day he went back to school. However, Lincoln wasn't the master of convincing for nothing; he managed to get his teachers, his friends, and Ronnie Anne to believe that he just wasn't getting much sleep lately. That he had been staying up late working on a school project. This worked a little too well on his teacher, Miss Johnson, who extended the deadline of the project for another week and instructed the one son to get some sleep. Fortunately, Lola was able to come to the rescue there: a simple cosmetic application to make him look more healthy (though he felt kind of silly having to put on makeup just to go to school).

Soon enough, it was Saturday, the day of the week most kids looked forward to, and the Louds were no exception. Lincoln especially was waiting for the weekend, for he had plans (as he usually did). One of those plans wasn't to sleep in, though that was exactly what he did. It was nearly nine o clock and he was still sawing logs when his door creaked open. A tiny head poked in and surveyed the room. Lucy had gone down to breakfast earlier, and Lynn had moved down onto the couch (in spite of Lincoln's insistence she could stay in her own room), so the only one there was Lincoln. Seeing this was the case, Lily crawled into the room and over to Lynn's bed. It was too high for her to climb up on her own, but she was pretty clever for an infant. She grabbed an empty waste basket, pushed it over and climbed up to the mattress. She sat there for a moment, looking into Lincoln's tired looking face for a moment before she gently prodded his cheek. "Inky…" She said quietly, poking him again.

"Urrggh….huh?" He groaned as he opened one eye, only to see his baby sister sitting right next to him. He smiled drowsily. "Good morning, Lily…" Seeing him smile brightened the Loud baby's face instantly. He carefully sat up, so's not to knock her over. "How'd you get up here?" While she didn't answer, she did look down at the wastebasket. "Well, aren't you a little smartie?" He said with a chuckle, gently patting her on the head as she giggled.

"Inky...ok?" She asked him, looking at him with concern.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, Lily." She looked skeptically as him, which made Lincoln look at himself in his reflection on his phone screen. "...well, I feel better than I look. Hehehe."

"Inkin...sowwy…" The infant suddenly said, looking really sad.

"Sorry?" He put his phone down, looking curiously at her. "Lily, you don't have anything to be sorry about…" she looked back up at him with big, tear filled eyes. A heartbreaking sight to any older sibling. Before she could start crying, however, he picked her up and held her in a gentle hug. "I mean it, Lily. You had no control over what happened. You're just a little Lily...a clever one, yes, but still a little Lily." She looked up into his face, which was smiling down at her as only a caring sibling could. She smiled in return, trying to give him a big hug.

"There you are, Lily," The Loud mother said after she peeked into the open door. She paused for a moment upon entering as she saw the adorable scene before her. "Awwww." The two looked up at that.

"Oh, morning Mom," He said, his face becoming more of a neutral one. "Guess Lily slipped away?"

"Right after I changed her diaper, yeah. You little escape artist," She said to Lily as Lincoln handed the infant back to her, Lily chortling mischievously. "I guess she really wanted to see you this morning."

"Yeah, I got that impression," Lincoln responded almost as deadpan as Lisa.

"She didn't bother you, did she?"

"Nah. I should have woken up earlier than now anyway," He replied as he slid out of bed.

"A lot of us got started later today," Rita said with a light chuckle. "So there may still be pancakes down in the kitchen. Meanwhile, I think it's time for someone's favorite show." The baby's eyes brightened immensely when her mother said that. As the two of them started to leave, Lily looked back to her older brother.

"Bah bah, Inky."

"Heh. I'll see you in a little bit, Lily," He responded, giving her a little smile while his mother's back was turned.

* * *

Once he had gotten dressed, he hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen. As luck would have it, there was still a stack of warm hotcakes sitting on the counter. Not far from the platter was Lori, a cup of coffee in one hand and her phone in the other. A normal sight to behold in the Loud House. However, while she was looking at her phone, she wasn't really looking at it. Her mind was elsewhere. So lost was she in her own head that she never heard Lincoln when he spoke to her. "Are these yours, Lori?" He asked her, indicating the pancakes. She didn't respond. "Lori?" He gently touched her elbow, which made her flinch in surprise, nearly dropping her mug.

"Huh!? Oh...morning Linc…" She said once she recovered from the momentary shock.

"Morning, Lori. I just wanted to ask if that was your plate there."

"Nah. It's up for grabs," She answered, sounding distracted as she took a sip of her coffee. The white haired boy nodded and took the plate, her eyes following him as he went about the kitchen to get what he needed for his breakfast. Seeing him once more reminded Lori that she still had no idea how she was going to make amends for what happened to him. The others had plans (or at least she assumed so at this point), but she was still out of ideas. It was quite an upsetting thought for her. She just sighed as she drank from her coffee and departed from the kitchen while Lincoln doused his pancakes in syrup. With Lily watching tv and no real inclination to watch it anyway, the oldest sister made her way straight to her room. "Ok, Lori…" She said to herself after she shut her door. "Here's the problem before you...you, like the rest of the family, messed up bad. Messed up to the point where you almost lost your brother forever…" She sat herself down on her bed, setting her phone on the bedside table between her and Leni's bed. "...you have to do something to make it up to him...now...what are you going to do?" She asked herself.

'...wouldn't you like to know…' A voice in the back of her head said. A voice with a mocking tone to it. The authoritative blonde sighed as she flopped onto her back. 'I mean, think about it...what can you do? Drive him wherever he wants to go? Pfft. That wouldn't have even made up for screwing up Leni's driving test.'

"Ugh...don't remind me…" She told herself, face palming.

'Other than that, what do you have? Being bossy? Yeah, that'll help…' Her mental instigator continued. 'Your phone? Well, he could use one, since we sold his...though what's he going to do with it? Call your Boo Boo Bear?' Lori groaned in frustration as she sat up and punched her pillow. 'Face it, Lori. You have nothing.'

"No...there has to be something…" She said out loud, tears building up in her eyes. "There has to be…"

'Does there? Think about it, Queen of No...you helped make sure your only brother was kicked out of the house. You helped sell his stuff. You did nothing to stop it,' The inner voice told her, the tears starting to trickle down her face. 'Some big sister you are. And to your own brother no less. What are you gonna do for an encore? Kick Lily out?'

"I would never-!"

'Or your future children, perhaps? Probably wouldn't be hard...Bobby does whatever you say anyway.'

"Shut up!" Lori yelled, putting her hands over her ears as if that should do anything. Strangely, however, it seemed to work. The voice inside her head seemed to stop. She slowly removed her hands from her ears just in time to hear she got a text. She leaned over for a look, seeing it was from Bobby, asking how she was doing. While the two of them had seen each other in school since Lincoln had returned from Gregory House, Lori hadn't really been seeing him much beyond that, which was pretty unusual for her. Naturally, he was concerned about her. "...Bobby...always so considerate," She said wistfully with a weak smile as she went to reply that she was ok. However, when she picked up the phone…

'You know...he has a right to know.'

"Huh? What do you mean?" She asked, her finger stopping halfway to the screen.

'Bobby. He has a right to know what kind of person you are, right?' The voice asked. While it still sounded somewhat mocking, it also sounded quite serious. 'The kind of horrible person who would let her one and only brother get thrown out of the house just because she believed he was bad luck. Wouldn't you agree?' Lori couldn't deny it. Whatever this voice was, it was actually making sense. Her dearest Bobby did deserve to know. She started to type into her phone.

"Bobby...there's something I need to-" She said as she typed it out, sounding down and depressed as she did so.

'Wait!' A second voice said that sounded an awful lot like her own voice. 'Lori, you and the family promised to never speak of this event again.'

"...that's true," The eldest sister said as she deleted the message.

'Maybe so, but come on...he's the possible future father of your children,' The taunting tone interjected. 'You owe it to him to be honest with him.' Lori whined a bit, her head starting to hurt as she reached for the screen again.

'Lori, think for a moment what your actions will cause,' Her conscience told her. 'Setting aside the fact Bobby would probably dump you for that…'

"I would deserve it…"

'...but does your family deserve the consequences that will come of it?' Lori paused, looking somewhat lost as the sound in her head that sounded like her continued. 'No doubt upon hearing what had happened to Lincoln, he wouldn't stop at just dropping you. He would probably tell others...maybe even the authorities. He cares about Lincoln, after all.'

'Like you're supposed to,' The antagonizing voice added snidely.

'And everyone in the family, barring Lincoln and Lily, would probably suffer as a result.'

'Hey, the twerp-'

"Don't call him that!" Lori scolded...herself?

'Oh, don't even start, you hypocrite. Anyway, he'd probably see that as justice.'

'If that was the case, Lincoln would have simply called the police the moment he returned from Gregory House. He's giving everyone a chance to make things right, Lori, and he wants to keep this exclusively between all of us. Shouldn't you respect his wishes to keep it secret and give everyone that opportunity to make amends?'

"Argh!" She growled in frustration, thumping her head against the headboard of her bed. She had no idea what she was going to do. She wanted to do the right thing, but what was "the right thing to do"?

'Tell him, Lori," The first voice demanded.

'Keep the secret, Lori,' The other voice beseeched her.

'He deserves to know.'

'Lincoln wanted it to go unmentioned for a reason.'

'Tell him!'

'Don't!' From there, it just devolved into the two yelling 'Yes!' and 'No!' inside Lori's mind. Unable to tone them out, their bickering was starting to give her a migraine. It was like having a Lola and Lana fight going on inside her head, and she was helpless to do anything about it.

"Hey Lor...ya got a-" Luna started to say as she started opening the door. The moment she did, she witnessed Lori clutching the sides of her head and just screaming in absolute agitation. The rocker sis just stood there in shock for a moment before saying "...maybe this is a bad time...I'll come back later…" and making a quiet retreat.

"Ugh...I've got an argument going on inside my head and a migraine...and I'm still no closer to figuring out what I'm going to do…" She moaned into her pillow. With a sorrowful sigh and without looking, she texted the following back to her boyfriend.

"Everything's fine."

* * *

Once Lincoln had finished his breakfast, the one son made his way over to Lucy and Lynn's room. When he arrived, Lucy was sitting cross legged on the carpet. Sitting before her, sitting on an old plate, was an incense burner. The burning incense stick in the burner gave off the aroma of wood and lemon. It made him cough initially, but nowhere near as bad as the first time he had smelled it. "You're starting to get used to it. Good," Lucy commented, watching as he sat across from her.

"Are you sure this is helping?" Lincoln asked her, sounding a little uncertain.

"Positive. Meditation is one of the best ways to heal a wounded soul that I am aware of," She told him in her usual monotone. "You may not notice much of a change in the physical effects of a damaged soul for a while, but it is helping."

"Well...I admit I don't feel as drained as I used to."

"There you go," Lucy said with a nod. "Now, just like before...clear your mind. Block out all outside distraction," She instructed him as she took a deep breath. "Breathe in the frankincense. Let your mind and body be at ease." The white haired boy nodded as he closed his eyes, taking a slow breath as he tried to remove all thoughts from his mind. They had been doing this exercise since the first full day he had returned in an attempt to mend the damage being in the soul rending hotel caused. It wasn't easy at first, since neither could really get their mind off what happened recently and the smell of the incense was really distracting to the one son. It was still kinda difficult to clear his mind, but he was getting used to the smell.

Lucy also had trouble not distracting herself with her thoughts. Not only did she have the bad luck incident on her shoulders, she was plagued with guilt over the toilet debacle. Yes, Lincoln made the choice to take the fall for her. Yes, she made him a comic to make up for it. Yes, the family was aware of his innocence from his conversation with Cactus Girl. But no, none of that was enough for her. He was still unjustly punished for something he didn't do. It had been bothering her ever since Lincoln had been grounded, but now it had tormenting her full force. She slowly looked up at her brother, who looked like he was starting to really relax now. She made up her mind. First opportunity she had, she was going to confess what she did to their family. Once everyone was in the same room. But for right now, Lincoln's mental and spiritual health took priority.

* * *

Meanwhile, Leni and Lana were huddled together in the garage, looking through the fashionista's phone. While they had wood to work with for Leni's project, she didn't like it. She wanted to make a really nice bed and dresser for her brother, and the wood Lana offered, while solid, wasn't the most attractive lumber. Therefore, she and her handy little sister were looking for sources of good wood for the furniture. "Well, mahogany is considered a very fine wood…" Lana commented, looking at the image of the lumber from the hardware store website with a critical eye. "...but it's expensive."

"A shame. It looks so pretty," The kind hearted sister commented.

"Oak, on the other hand, is good and strong. Would last a good, long time, but it might not like the stain you picked out."

"Hmph. Well, if it won't get along with the stain, then we don't need its help." The hat wearing twin slowly looked at her, but refrained from commenting.

"Probably the best of both worlds would be maple. Looks nice, can hold up, looks good with most stains, and it isn't too expensive, comparatively," she explained, pulling up the last selection.

"Oh! That's perfect!" Leni chirped excitedly. "How much would it cost to get it?" Lana took a moment to do some math and put the numbers into the website for the estimate. When the final sum came up, Leni's cheerful expression disappeared in an instant. With the wood, stain, finish and all, it would end up costing FAR more than she had on hand. "Lana, I don't suppose you-"

"Sorry, Leni, but after Lola and I put Plan A into action, I'm broke…" The handy girl admitted with a shrug. The family fashionista sighed, closing the site.

"Well...I'm not giving up on it," Leni said with a determined look. "It's... just going to take me a little longer to get it, is all…" She added, her face becoming sad as she said that.

"Well, if you're sure, Leni...I'll keep my tools down here in case you change your mind," Her tool savvy little sister offered before she left the garage.

'Ok...the nice wood I need to make Linky a good, strong, pretty bed costs more than I have…' She thought to herself as she headed back toward her and Lori's room. 'I need to get more money...maybe I can ask for an advance on my-wait...that would make it more difficult for Mom and Dad…And I don't think I can get any from my sisters.' She frowned as she considered her options. She briefly considered asking Lincoln, but she remembered pretty quick (even for her) that this was for him to begin with. When she returned to her room, she found her older sister with her face buried in her pillow. She thought to herself that she was taking a nap, so she decided she would think about her problem quietly.

She parked herself on her own mattress, looking around the room for inspiration. 'What can I do to get more money? Well, I could get a job...it would take time though...is there anything I can do to get money quickly?' As her eyes scanned her living space, they fell upon her sewing machine. The gears started turning in her head.

* * *

Lisa yawned widely as she stood by her work table, carefully putting a mixture into a tiny capsule. Once the compound was inside, she sealed it up and put it into a little bottle filled with hundreds more just like it. It had taken the little genius a long time, and a few sleepless nights, but she thought her efforts were finally about to pay off. "At long last, the sleeping tablets are complete…" She said drowsily. "If I am correct in my beliefs, the medicine contained within these pills should, in theory, induce dreamless sleep into the one who partakes them." She had started working on these pills from the first night her brother woke up screaming in a cold sweat. As she had expected from what little she heard of that horrible place, the experience left Lincoln significant mental trauma, causing terrible nightmares to haunt him. While she felt professional psychiatric treatment would be the better option, it would expose the bad luck scandal and Lincoln didn't want that.

With the pills, as near as she knew, completed, she simply needed to test them. Were these normal times, she would have given him the medicine to him and watched the results. However, this was meant for his benefit, not the benefit of science. She would need another test subject. Given how tired she was already, she decided she would test the pills on herself. She pulled out a notebook and started to write, in spite of her drowsiness. "Experimental sleeping pill test log. Day one. The sleeping aides have been completed. Should they work as I expect them to, it will put the user into a dreamless sleep. Initial testing about to begin. Test subject: Dr Lisa Loud. Time of test: 9:45 AM. Test amount: a single capsule. It should be noted the subject is already sufficiently fatigued, having not slept at all the previous night." Once she finished making that note, she took a single tablet from the bottle and swallowed it down. She doubted the effects would be instantaneous, so she took the opportunity to set herself up to collect data: moving her vital monitoring equipment near her bed, her dream recording device, setting her alarm clock for an hour, and putting up a 'Do Not Disturb' sign outside her door. Then, she climbed into bed to wait for the pill to kick in. The preparations took about twenty minutes and she could feel herself getting more sleepy by this time.

As she took note of this, she saw something from the corner of her eye. She turned her head and, to her shock, she saw a large, green dinosaur in a green vest and hat with a shamrock in it by Lily's crib, hopping from one foot to the other. She blinked and rubbed her sleepy eyes before taking another look. He was still there, just dancing there. "Curious...it appears side effects would include some hallu...cina-" She couldn't even finish that sentence, nor make that note, before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Luna, knowing that Lincoln and Lucy were doing a meditation exercise in her (Lucy's) room, had taken to the basement so's not to disturb them. She had a lot of thinking she needed to do, and she did her best thinking while she was playing music. So there she was, sitting on a full laundry basket with her acoustic guitar, strumming the strings as she thought. She had a slight idea of what she was going to do, but she wasn't sure how she was going to do it. Not only that, but the notion that Lincoln was most upset with her left her second guessing herself. Would her attempts to speak to her brother just make things worse right now? Would it be better for her to wait, so she doesn't hinder her family's attempts? Would Lincoln be even more upset when he learns they overheard him talking to Cactus Girl? When she thought about this, she cringed and her fingers slipped, causing her to play a bad note. She sighed as she started over with her playing, soon playing a couple bars of the blues:

**"Once upon a time, not long ago,**  
**We could be called a family.**  
**We would argue, we would fight,**  
**But we were as close as could be.**

**Now, because we fell for luck,**  
**And stood there, idly by...**  
**Our bond is all but broke,**  
**Leaving all of us to cry...**

**But against all odds,**  
**He'll give us another go.**  
**To mend the near shattered bond**  
**And let our regret show.**

**It won't be easy, it might just hurt**  
**It may take to the end of time**  
**But it's what we'll do to bring us back**  
**To once upon a-"**

She paused in the middle of her sentence, frowning. "Nah, man...that isn't right," She said to herself. "Ignoring the fact I was about to rhyme time with time, we don't want things to be like they were...we need them to be better." She nodded as she stated that realization and she started to play again.

**"We hurt our brother's soul,**  
**His faith, his trust, his heart.**  
**He had every right to hate us all,**  
**But he gave us another start.**

**Some have a plan, some do not,**  
**I...I have a way**  
**But what good does it do anyone,**  
**If I'm lost as to what to say…?**

**But we must do what we can**  
**To atone for our crime.**  
**To become better than we were.**  
**Than we were once upon a time…"**

* * *

The only Loud child not currently in the house was Lynn. After she had her breakfast, she had immediately vacated, saying she was going for a walk through the woods. This was kind of true; she was walking. However, it wasn't for the exercise. She just wanted to be out of the house before her brother woke up. Not that she didn't want to be around him, because she did. However, a combination of fear and guilt kept her from being anywhere near him. She was certain that he would never forgive her; that he would hate her forever, in spite of what Lori told her. 'How can he not?' She thought to herself as she kicked a pebble on the dirt path as she meandered along the path. 'I screwed up his life for several days...almost cost him his life and soul. I turned the entire family against him...all over luck.' She wiped the tears from her eyes as she stepped up to a small pond. The young athlete gazed into the surface of the water, looking at her reflection. She looked tired, stressed, and right now, very angry.

'You're supposed to be a good older sister. Protecting your younger siblings…' she mentally berated herself, her fists clenched. 'But a good sister of any kind wouldn't threaten her little brother with a bat...blame him for nothing...turn others against him...that's what bullies do.' She suddenly punched herself across the face, making her stagger to the side. "This is what happens to bullies-" She growled as her fist slammed into her own chin. "-who mess with my family." She hit herself a few more times, giving herself a few bruises as a result. She probably would have gone further, but she knew she would have to explain herself when she got home, and she was already grounded as it stood for threatening Lincoln with a bat. Honestly, she thought she got off easy. She glanced at the pond for a brief moment, then looked away in disgust before she moved along, thinking she could stall for a little while longer before she'd have to return home.

* * *

_AN: Some of you may notice that some things haven't changed too much from the previous Healing Process chapters, especially Lily's segment. I felt that I could still use what I did in those chapters, only I won't be lazy and I'll show the entire journey they take to put their plans (at least those who have them) into motion. Trust me, it won't be as easy for them as it sounds right now...except for Lily, but she's just a baby. And yes, I am aware I skipped Luan. I plan to have her attempt come pretty early on._

_Finally, I apologize if the song kinda sucks. I'm not much of a song writer, outside of parodying other songs (and even then I'm not great)._


	35. Chapter 35: Flea Market Sweep

Flea Market Sweep

It was nearly a week before Leni could put her plan to earn some money into action, since she had to wait for the weekend. Both her parents were busy during this time, and without Vanzilla, Lori couldn't really help her either. But when the time came, she grabbed hold of the opportunity like it was a dress on sale. She was smiling broadly as her mother drove her through town, looking rather excited. "Are you sure you want to do this, Leni?" Rita inquired, glancing toward her sweet, but dim teen daughter as she drove the car.

"Yeah, Mom. I'm sure," Leni replied, and she sounded it. Her mother simply nodded as she turned the old van into the entrance of a parking lot. The sign they drove under to enter said "Royal Woods Flea Market". Rita had been here a few times before; with so many children, it was a godsend for her at times. However, she wasn't here to shop this time. She drove the family vehicle around the outdoor market a few times until she and Leni spotted an open, unused table. She backed the almost broken down van up to the table, where Leni opened up the back and started to pull stacks of clothes from the back of it. Not just any clothes, though: almost all of her best clothes, and even a couple of her own design. Not only that, but she placed her new sewing machine on the table, and set up her dress making dummy, a full length mirror, and her modeling pedestal beside it. After a few minutes of pricing (with a little help from her mother), Leni was open for business. She stood behind her table of wares with a bright smile on her face while waiting for her first customers when a pair of familiar faces approached her stall.

"Leni! Hi!" Mandee exclaimed cheerfully.

"Jackie! Mandee!" Leni chirped, rushing around the table to give them a big hug.

"What are you doing here, Leni?" Jackie inquired, once they separated, looking at the table."Selling off some of your stuff?"

"Don't suppose you'd be willing to trade some of your stuff for some of mine?" Mandee offered, looking at a turquoise scarf on the table with interest. Leni's smile widened, seriously considering her offer. However, she remembered the reason she was there before she said anything.

"Actually...I can't. I need the money for something really super important," She informed them, her smile fading.

"Wow...it must be important if you're selling your sewing machine too," Her raven haired friend commented in surprise.

"Well, if it's that important, then I'll help you out," Mandee said, opening her purse and pulling out some money to buy the scarf.

"I've always loved this dress," Jackie said, picking up the blue dress that was instrumental in causing the sister fight protocol.

'You know...I don't even remember wearing that dress even after all the fighting…' Leni thought to herself.

"...but I think it'll be a little loose for me in the...uh...chest area…"

"Oh! I have all the stuff I need in the van. I could do alterations right in there," The second eldest of the sisters offered, pointing toward the back of the van. "Mom, could you watch the table for a bit?"

"Certainly, sweetie," Rita said, taking her daughter's place while she went into the back of Vanzilla with Jackie, Mandee waiting patiently for them outside. About ten minutes later, the two of them emerged, the dark haired teen wearing the dress and stepping in front of the mirror.

"This is perfect! Thanks so much, Leni!" She reached into her purse and not only paid for the dress, but a little extra for the alteration.

"Thank you, Jackie. I hope you enjoy the dress. See you later, gals!" Leni called out, waving as her friends departed. "This is going really well so far." The kindly blonde said, putting her money into a small wooden box. Just then, a very round woman with light brown, bushy hair approached the table, taking interest in a wide brimmed hat with a few faux flowers in the rim she had for sale. She picked the hat up, moved herself over to the mirror, and tried it on for size. However, one look at her reflection made her frown, and even Leni's smile weakened at the sight. "Excuse me, Miss...if I can make a suggestion…" She moved over to her potential customer and tilted the hat so it was sitting slightly to the side. "There. That's better."

"That does look a little better…" The plump woman said, her smile returning. "I'll take it, and this mirror too...only, could you hold it for me a little while? It won't quite fit in my car and it'll be some time before my husband can get here in his truck."

"Like, no problem, ma'am!" Leni responded cheerfully, taking her money and writing paid over the mirror's price. "If this keeps up, I'll be able to get that wood in no time." She said to herself as her latest customer left.

* * *

Back at the Loud House, Lincoln was just kind of lounging on Lynn's bed while reading a comic, all by himself. Since he had returned home from Gregory's domain, he had adopted a more hands off strategy regarding his family: he would let them approach him. He had a few reasons for this tactic: First, the last time he spent time with everyone (which was at dinner very early on), it was very uncomfortable and awkward for everyone. Second, he didn't want to put too much pressure on them. He knew from experience that rushing a plan would only cause it to collapse, and he wanted to give them a legitimate chance. He knew they would come to him when they were ready; it would just take some time...or so he thought. Lucy had parlayed with him a few days after his return with her meditation idea. He wasn't surprised she was among the first to try and make peace, however. She was going to be his roommate for the foreseeable future. How quickly she executed her idea, however, and the fact it was working decently well so far did surprise him. 'Well, there are exceptions to every rule…' He thought to himself as he set his comic aside. 'And Lucy knows more about the soul then any of us…'

"It certainly sounds like she had an advantage over the others," A horribly familiar voice said next to his ear. He turned his head to see a tiny Gregory standing on his shoulder. He yelped in shock and terror, nearly falling off the bed.

"G...Gregory!? What are you doing here!?"

"Oh, I'm not. I'm just a manifestation of your doubts, taking a form you associate with said doubt and misery," The miniature old rat explained, clinging to the one son's shoulder.

"...well, at least I'm not going crazy…" He said sarcastically as he straightened up. "How are you even there anyway? I thought the Grim Reaper-"

"He severed the connection you had to Gregory House, yes, but he can never completely rid you of your doubts, my friend," The imaginary rodent elaborated to him. "That much is up to you. On that note, don't you think it's taking your family an awfully long time to make their move?"

"I want to give them the time they need to figure out what they're going to do," The white haired boy responded.

"I understand that, my friend," Mini Gregory said. "I'm just saying...it's been over a week. The federal government moves quicker than they do."

"One of them approached me last week…"

"Yeah. Lily. Literally the only one you intended to forgive from the start…"

"Ok...ok, that's fair...but I'm sure they're trying." The one son countered, sweating a little bit.

"Are you, Lincoln?" His doubt inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"...well, I know Mom and Dad are constantly going out trying to get my stuff back…"

"Unsuccessfully...but I do concede that they are trying."

"And Lucy...wait, I covered Lucy already...uh...Leni! Yeah, I'm sure whatever Leni is doing out there is her working on her plan."

"Oh, please, Lincoln…" Gregory scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You know her better than that. More likely she already forgot about all this and went to the mall."

"With Mom?" Lincoln asked with a raised eyebrow. The manifestation of his doubt opened his mouth, thought about it for a moment, then shrugged.

"It's a possibility…" He replied, somewhat weakly. "You don't know for certain that it isn't."

"...No, I guess I don't." The middle Loud was forced to admit.

"You see? This passive approach isn't getting you much of anywhere. What you need to do is light a fire under their asses. Throw out an ultimatum; show some progress or get lost."

"...I see your point," Lincoln started. "But I don't want to rush them too much...let's give them, say, another couple of days. If no one makes a move by then, I'll start lighting some fires...figuratively speaking."

"...I suppose that will have to do," Gregory said with a sigh.

* * *

Sometime later, Leni was leaning against her table of wares with a bored expression on her face. Since the doughy lady had bought the hat and mirror (which was still by her table), she hadn't had a single customer...and that was nearly two hours ago. Some folks stopped by and looked, but no one seemed too interested. "Then again...maybe not…"

"Don't despair, honey. Things will pick up soon," Rita said in a comforting tone, patting on the back.

"I hope so…" Leni responded glumly.

"...it's almost lunchtime. I'll go get us something from the food truck," Her mother offered, starting to step away from the table. "What would you like, dear?"

"Just a smoothie. I had a big breakfast…" The fashionista replied untruthfully. In truth, she was dejected to the point where she wasn't hungry, but suspected her mother wouldn't buy that. The Loud mother just nodded lightly and headed off to get some food. As soon as she was out of sight, a trio of teenage boys in Royal Woods High jackets grinned as they whispered to one another. Leni never noticed this, as she was waiting for her next customer. She didn't have long to wait, for a few minutes later, the three boys approached her table.

"Hey there," The blond haired, good looking boy greeted her, leaning against the table with a winning smile.

"Hi. How may I help you?" Leni chirped as his friends (one with short, spiked black hair, the other with light brown hair) looked through her dresses on sale.

"We're looking for some new outfits for our girls," He explained. "And this stuff here...it's some real fine stuff."

"Aww. That's so sweet."

"It's gotta be the right dress, though…" The one with spiky hair said. "And these outfits...they are fine, like he said. Very fine."

"True, but on our gals...they'd just look nice, and they deserve better than nice. They deserve gorgeous," The brown haired teen boy commented.

"Right you are. We need a gorgeous dress. An alluring dress. A dress…" The group leader looked Leni over from head to toe and smirked. "...like what you're wearing."

"Oh? I'm afraid I don't have a dress like that…"

"Sure you do." He pointed at the one she was wearing. She looked down at herself, then back up with a look of understanding.

"Oh! Well, I didn't intend to sell it...but I guess I could."

"Atta girl. We'll give you...fifty for it," The blond teen placed a fifty dollar bill on the table before.

"That...seems a bit much," Leni said, feeling kind of bad about the idea of taking that much.

"You deserve it, cutie," The charismatic leader said, giving her a toothy smile. The kindly dressmaker blushed, giggly coyly.

"Well...If you'll give me a moment to change-"

"We're kinda in a hurry. You think you could just give it here right now?" The somewhat air headed teen hesitated for a moment, her cheeks a bright red.

"Isn't the customer always right?" The raven haired young man asked, grinning.

"Well...I guess that is true…" She said quietly. 'And it's for Lincoln…' she added in her mind.

"Here. I'll add an extra twenty if I can get the bra that goes with it!" The boy with the light brown hair plopped a twenty on the table with an even bigger smirk.

"Psst. Don't push our luck, dumbass," His more charming friend hissed from the corner of his mouth. Leni's whole face turned red with embarrassment as she slowly pushed the bill back.

"I...uh...I can't," She whispered. "I...don't have one of those to give…" This made the three boys grin even more. The second oldest sister took a deep breath and grabbed her dress by the hem. She started to lift it up, the boys' eyes locked on her. However, before she could lift it past her underwear, her phone went off. "Oh! Excuse me a moment." Leni let go of her gown and pulled out her phone.

"Oh, come on!" The black haired boy groaned. "We said we were in a hur-"

"I've taken your pictures and the police are on their way," Leni said as she looked at the screen, making the boys go pale. "Do not attempt to run. We know who you are." She blinked as she scratched her head. "I wonder why Mom wanted me to read that out-" she looked up from her phone and found she was alone. The boys had already headed for the hills, leaving the money on the table. "Huh? Where'd they go?"

"Leni! Are you alright!?" Rita asked as she ran over to her daughter's table.

"I'm fine, Mom," Leni replied. "But my customers ran off…" Her mother looked down at the bills, holding one up for Leni to see. It was all play money from a board game.

"They weren't customers, sweetie…" She said with a frown. "They were perverts trying to scam you."

"They...they were lying?" Leni gasped.

"I'm afraid so…" Her mother said with a shake of her head. "Leni, you shouldn't have let them try and push you into doing that."

"...they said they were customers and-"

"Leni...in this case, the customer is NOT always right. What they were doing was outright wrong."

"...I'm sorry, Mom…" The sweet young teen said, tears welling up in her eyes. The Loud matriarch pulled her into a gentle hug.

"It's ok, Leni...you weren't hurt at all and those little punks won't get away with it," She told her as she pat her second oldest child's back. "But don't let others, least of all customers, bully you into doing something you know isn't right."

"...I just really want to get the money so I can make Lincoln's bed…"

"I know, sweetheart, but Lincoln wouldn't be happy if you ended up hurt or in trouble because of it…" Rita said, before thinking to herself. 'Goodness...at least I hope not…'

"You're right...I'll try not to make the same mistake again…" Leni said, sniffling a bit.

"That's my girl," Her mother replied with a soft smile before she pulled a plastic cup from behind her back. "I almost forgot. Is mango orange ok? Their options on the truck were kind of limited."

"It's great. Thanks, Mom." The dull witted fashionista smiled softly as she took the cup and took a deep drink from it. Maybe it was the talk, or maybe the sweet/tangy fruit drink entering her system, but she started to feel a little better.

"I also got you a little something else, just in case you changed your mind about being hungry," The Loud mother said, showing her a chicken shish kabob she had gotten her. Leni certainly didn't feel much like eating still, but the growl from her stomach gave away how hungry she was. She blushed a bit and chuckled sheepishly as she took the grilled meat and vegetables on a stick from her mother, thanking her again.

* * *

A little time passed and things seemed to be picking up at the market. Most customers were filing in, and Leni's table was doing decent business. She had sold a few more blouses, a skirt, and a dress, not to mention her modeling pedestal. Her high spirits were back up again as she waited for her next customer. "Doing alright over there?" An elderly man at the table across from hers asked, while a tall, lanky man all in white was bouncing a tennis ball off an antique tennis racket that he had gotten from the vendor's table. All of his stuff looked pretty old; probably things he dug up from the attic and decided it was time to go.

"Doing alright," She responded. "How about you?"

"Ah, business is kind of slow, but you gotta expect that sometimes," The old man said with a bit of a chuckle. "'Specially with old junk like mine. But sooner or later, the right person comes along, and if they can give it a good home that isn't in my house, then I'm happy." Leni just nodded at him, about to respond when-

"Oops!" The tennis ball the man with the racquet had been fiddling with bounced much harder than intended, flying off course and headed right for the full length mirror by Leni's table. Rita gasped while Leni screamed, but it was the young teen who reacted first. She dove in front of the mirror, just in time to block the wayward ball...with her right eye. The little green orb bounced harmlessly away while Leni fell to the ground, covering her eye.

"Leni! Are you alright!?" Her mother asked in a tone dripping with worry as she knelt by her daughter, soon followed by the lanky man and the elderly gentleman.

"...is the mirror still in one piece?" She asked with a groan.

"...uh...yes, it looks like it."

"Then I'm fine," The usually chipper teen said as she sat up and removed her hand from her eye. Her mother cringed, the man with the racquet looked horrified, and the old vendor groaned at the sight.

"Oooh...that's not good…" He commented quietly. The poor girl had been given a nasty black eye from the impact of the tennis ball, but she didn't seem too bothered by it.

"Young lady, I am so sorry...I didn't mean for that to happen…" The man responsible said, looking like he felt as bad as her eye looked.

"YOU should be more careful," Rita said with an angry frown, about to go into full mama bear mode.

"I know...I know...I'll go get her some ice for her eye," He said before he rushed off, the Loud mother glaring at his back the whole time.

"Excuse me!?" A huffy sort of voice snapped from the front of their table. The two ladies and one elderly man turned to see a slight round, snippy looking woman standing there. She was wearing a tank top and stretch pants, had an expensive purse on her arm, and the kind of haircut that just screamed 'get me your manager'. "Am I going to get some service today!?"

"Ah dagnabbit...not this-" He muttered something under his breath so Leni couldn't hurt. "-again…" The old man groaned angrily.

"What did you say!?" The woman asked angrily. She didn't hear him, but she got the jist of it anyway.

"You heard me, you malcontented old business body," He replied hostilely before he slowly returned to his table. Rita could just tell this was going to be trouble as she moved the mirror to the side of Vanzilla to avoid a possible problem and Leni returned to the table.

"Sorry about that. How may-"

"You know, you should really do something about that hideous eye of yours before dealing with customers," The lady cut her off harshly.

"But it only just-"

"That's no excuse for poor customer service." Rita glared at Leni's latest customer as she stood by the side of the family van. "It's fortunate for you that I am in need of a sewing machine, or I wouldn't even be here."

"Oh! It really is a great sewing machine. I've only had it a few-"

"I'll take it for ten dollars," The rude customer once again interrupted her, sounding like that was the final word on the matter. Leni blinked in shock before looking down at the price tag on the machine.

"But...it's priced at-"

"Don't you talk back to me, you little brat! I am the customer and the customer is always right! You should be grateful I'm even interested after the outrageous service you have attempted to provide me!" She snapped at the young lady. Rita's urge to leap to Leni's defense continued rising as the entitled woman suddenly held her hand out to the second oldest Loud sister.

"...what?"

"My ten dollars. Give it to me."

"Wait...you want me to give YOU money to buy my sewing machine?" Leni asked, positively stunned by this revelation.

"Well, what are you waiting for!?" The pushy woman demanded, snapping her fingers at Leni. The kindly teen instinctively reached for her wallet, but then she paused, remembering what her mother had said earlier.

"No," She said firmly, looking the entitled woman right in the eyes.

"...WHAT!?"

"I said no. I'm not giving you money to take my sewing machine. It's practically brand new, and usually sells for hundreds of dollars. It's a steal at that price."

'Thatta girl,' Rita thought with a smile.

"You...little bitch! How dare you!? Don't you know the first thing about customer service!? The customer is always RIGHT!?" And there went the aspiring author's smile, replaced with a hateful sneer.

"But you're wrong," Leni responded, crossing her arms in front of her. The horrible woman's face turned red with anger, while their older friend at the opposite table started laughing.

"That's telling her, little miss!"

"Stay out of it, you old relic!" The slightly overweight woman snapped.

"You're not that much younger than me!" He retaliated with a smirk, which just winded her up even more. She growled with anger and scooped up the sewing machine from the table.

"This is for your atrocious service!" She yelled as she started to storm off with it.

"Hey! You didn't pay for that!" Leni cried out, but the woman pretended not to hear her. That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Rita.

"Stay there, Leni. Stop! Thief!" She yelled before she gave chase. The self centered woman broke into a run the moment the Loud mother yelled at her. While Rita was more fit than the one who robbed her little girl (somewhat), the thief had a head start, and she had no qualms with shoving people aside or knocking them down to delay Rita. However, the mother of eleven was tenacious. She stayed on the woman's trail as long as she could, but soon enough, the woman ended up getting lost in the crowd. Growling, the Loud mother stood on her tip toes to try and see over the crowd and spot the sewing machine snatcher.

"She went that way!" A red headed young lady selling baby clothes informed her, pointing toward the shopper's parking lot.

"Thanks!" Rita responded before she ran off toward the lot. Not wanting to be slowed down by the crowd of bargain hunters, she went off the beaten path, ducking between two vendor tables. Meanwhile, the entitled woman had a smug smile on her face. She thought she lost that crazy woman and was home free with a practically new sewing machine. She just needed to get to her car. The only problem was that the walking path was filled with people, slowing her down as she rudely pushed through them. "Come on! Move! Out of my way!" She said, shoving a young girl to the ground. She ignored the child's cries and her mother's protests as her brand new mini van came into sight. She only made it three more steps forward before a very angry Loud mother suddenly appeared before her, arms crossed with a steely glare.

"Going somewhere…?" The bob haired woman gasped and turned to run. However, she ran right into a tall, muscular woman dressed as a biker, wearing mirrored shades.

"Something wrong here?" She asked with a serious tone. The thief swung her free hand at the one blocking her path. The lady dressed as a biker blocked her attack with one hand, and showed her a badge with her other hand. The color drained from the woman's face at the sight of that.

"She...she's trying to steal my sewing machine…"

"You stole that machine from my daughter's table!" Rita snapped.

"She's lying!" The Karen responded with a pathetic look, holding the sewing machine like it were her own child. The officer looked between the two of them silently for a moment.

"...let me see that machine for a moment."

"What!? No! It's mine!"

"Ma'am, don't make this more difficult than it needs to be. Just let me have a look-" She reached for the sewing machine, and the would be thief took another swing at her. Her patience exhausted, the plainclothes cop grabbed hold of the offending limb and twisted it behind her back. "Congratulations. You have a charge of assaulting an officer as well as theft."

"Ow! Let me go! Police brutality! Police brutality!" The sewing machine swiper screamed out. However, no one there was listening to her. In fact, most of the vendors and shoppers were laughing at her. She was forced to drop the sewing machine as her other arm was brought behind her and she got cuffed.

"You have the right to remain silent. I suggest you exercise that right," The officer said seriously before picking up the machine and noticing something on the bottom of it. "Your name Leni Loud?"

"No! What kind of dumb name is that!?"

"That's my daughter's name!" Rita snapped, resisting the ever rising urge to punch this incredibly rude person. The officer leered at her for a moment, until the aspiring author showed her her driver's license.

"...Very well, Mrs Loud. Would you like to press-"

"Yes," Rita responded without a moment's hesitation, putting her license away.

"This is an injustice! I'll get a lawyer! I'll see you fired for this!" The woman raged as the police officer took her away. "And you! I'll ruin you and your little hussy of a daughter too!" The Loud matriarch gave her a death glare as she was being dragged away to an undercover police car.

"...Not now, Rita...tempting as it is, going to jail would not be a good thing right now…" She muttered under her breath, picking up the sewing machine and making her way back to Leni's table. When she got back, she saw that her daughter had an ice pack over her eye with the old vendor trying to comfort her while she sat on the rear bumper of the van. She looked like she had been crying.

"That's it, little miss. It'll be alright," He said, patting her on the back. "See? Your mother is back."

"Mom!" Leni sprang up from her seat, running over to give her mother a hug. "Are you ok? That mean woman didn't hurt you, did she?"

"No, Leni. I'm fine, and the police took that rude customer away," Rita replied as she hugged her daughter in return. "How's your eye, honey?"

"It's ok now. The ice is helping it feel better," The second oldest of the Loud children explained. "And the man who got it even gave me some money. I'm not sure why, but he seemed scared."

"I think he was afraid your mother would sue," The elderly man pointed out. "Or beat him up. Please tell me you got a few good punches on that...witch, though…"

"I wish…" Rita responded under her breath as she put the sewing machine back on the table. "But she got her just desserts anyway, so I'll take it."

"Oh good! I was looking for a nice sewing machine," Scoots said as she rode up to the table on her motorized scooter.

"Scoots? I didn't know you could sew," The old vendor commented, looking at the elderly woman on the scooter in surprise.

"Well, a gal's gotta have a few secrets," She replied with a smirk. "But it's not just for me. I have a friend who's been on the prowl for a good machine like this. You may have met her. She frequents this place all the time. Makes a right spectacle of herself every time."

'Er...are you getting it for her?" The Loud mother asked, having a dreadful suspicion she knew who she was referring to.

"Hell no! I'm gonna buy it, then rub it in her face," She replied with a cackle, getting a laugh from Rita, Leni and their new friend from across the path. The silver haired woman leaned in to look at the price tag. "Hmmmm. A bit out of my range there...will you take a hundred for it?" The fashionista considered the offer for a moment before she smiled.

"Like, ok. That sounds reasonable," She answered with a nod, taking the money from Scoots and helping her get the machine into her basket.

"Hehehe. You made my day, kid. See you around!" Scoots said before she zoomed off, kicking up some dust as she did so.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon at the flea market was, thankfully, uneventful. She managed to sell a few more articles of clothing and the plump woman from before returned to collect her purchased mirror before they decided to pack up, though, so that was a plus. As her mother drove them back for home, Leni took the time to count how much she collected for that day. "Let's see...with everything I sold, alterations, plus the money from the nice man...three hundred...and...fifteen dollars," She said, which made her face fall. "Oh...I needed two hundred and eighty at least…"

"Er...sweetie. Three hundred and fifteen is more than two hundred and eighty."

"Oh! Then nevermind!" Leni chirped, closing her money box. "I have everything I need to buy what I need for Linky's bed." Her mother smiled over at her, pleased that she was on the right track now. A couple minutes later, Vanzilla was back in the driveway and Leni was running up the stairs to Lola and Lana's room. However, before she could get there…

"Leni! You've been robbed!" Lori screamed, running out into the hall and grabbing her roommate by the shoulders, looking frantic and stressed. Her freaking out got the attention of her siblings, who moved to their respective doors for a listen.

"Robbed!? You mean, someone took my stuff while I was at the flea market!?"

"...flea market?" The authoritative blonde asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. I took some of my stuff to the flea market to get some money for…" She lowered her voice with an excited smile on her face. "...Linky's surprise…" Before she continued at a normal tone, "...but someone took some more of my things…?"

"...Leni, was your sewing machine among the things you took?"

"Yeah, why?" Leni replied curiously. Lori sighed, starting to calm down a little.

"Sorry, Leni...false alarm...I didn't know you were going to the flea market," She admitted.

"Well, it was for a surprise, and if I told anyone, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" Leni reasoned, which made her older sister sigh.

"Whatever you say, Leni…" She groaned, too stressed for this kind of conversation. Meanwhile, in Lynn and Lucy's room, Lincoln had heard most of the conversation. He was pretty surprised at what he had heard: Leni had sold most of her stuff? Even her practically new sewing machine? He didn't hear what she said it was for, though he thought he had a pretty good guess. He looked over at the little Gregory on his shoulder with a 'told you so' smirk.

"Ok...ok...you were right…" The illusory image of his doubt said begrudgingly. "But that's still only, like, one out of the remaining eight siblings."

* * *

_AN: Leni's last note worthy customer was heavily inspired by the entitled people/parents subreddit._


	36. Chapter 36: Jokes on her

Jokes on her

The next day, it started off looking like a dull, peaceful day. The Loud parents were out trying to regain Lincoln's belongings (leaving Lori in charge), the twins weren't fighting, there were no explosions from Lisa's room, and the music from Luna and Luan's room was nowhere near as loud as usual. To some, this would be a godsend. To Lincoln, however, it put him on edge. He was used to the noise and chaos of the Loud House. When it got quiet like this, it either meant something was wrong or the house was empty; and considering Lucy was right there with him, he knew the house wasn't empty. However, he knew that things weren't right and why too. It didn't make him any more relaxed about it. The silence was still unsettling. He was about to leave the room to check on the others when a knock came to the door. "Who's there?"

"Kamen," Luan responded, making Lincoln blink.

"Kamen who?" He asked before he could think about it.

"Kamen answer the door. Hahahaha!" The family jester joked. The one son rolled his eyes, but hearing his older sister making jokes made him feel a little better. At least some things were still somewhat normal. He put on his indifferent face as he answered the door.

"Hello Luan," He said flatly.

"Hey Linc. You doing anything at the moment?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Would you mind taking a little walk with me?" She asked, pointing over her shoulder with a thumb, smiling. The white haired boy thought for a moment. He wasn't doing anything at the moment, and a walk could be kind of relaxing, he thought.

"I guess…" He answered with a shrug.

"Great! I'll meet you downstairs, bro," Luan said, her smile growing as she hurried downstairs. Lincoln raised an eyebrow, but shrugged to the fourth wall before going to get his shoes. A few minutes later, he made his way down the stairs, where Luan was waiting by the door and Lynn was looking bored as anything on the couch. He looked over at her and said,

"Hey Lynn-" Hearing his voice, the family athlete nearly jumped out of her skin. She rolled off the couch and sprang to her feet before he could get anymore words out.

"Whoa! Look at the time! Gotta run! Football practice! See ya!" She exclaimed quickly with a nervous smile, sweating before she ran for the back door. The one son looked very surprised.

'I thought she was grounded from sports,' He thought to himself, having witnessed his parents punish her for threatening him with a bat. 'Come to think of it, Lynn's been saying she needs to go anytime I speak to her...and she's spending so much time outside of the house…'

"Penny for your thoughts, Linc?" Luan asked, noticing the concerned look on his face.

"...don't worry about it," He said quietly. "Come on. Let's go…"

* * *

A little later that day, Lincoln and Luan were sitting by a small, cool stream, dipping their feet into the water. Their shoes and socks sat beside the family joker as they relaxed. While they rested, Luan thought this was the perfect time to enact her plan to help her brother. "So...I'm guessing you're wondering why I asked you to come with me all the way out here," She started in an effort to get him curious.

"I thought you just wanted to hang out," The one son responded.

"That is part of the reason, yes," She confirmed with a nod. "But I also wanted to talk to you about your time at Gregory House." Lincoln was very surprised by this. His family rarely, if ever, tried asking him about his time on the other side, due to it being a pretty frightening experience for him.

"Er...ok. What would you like to know?"

"Let's start at the beginning. I'm gonna guess it starts like 'It was a dark and stormy night…'"

"Actually...yes," Lincoln told her, much to her surprise. "I wasn't sure how at the time, but I found myself in some dark woods in the middle of a terrible storm. I thought it was pretty lucky I stumbled upon Gregory House when I did. Had I known then what I do now, I would have probably stayed in the rain."

"Guess that idea was kinda all wet. Hahaha." Lincoln just kind of grunted in reply before continuing.

"When I went inside, Gregory was already there to greet me. He offered me a room, with no talk of payment...should have been the first red flag," He glanced over at Luan, but she didn't say anything. She simply beckoned him to proceed. "Well, I tried to sleep in the surprisingly nice room, but I was awoken by loud noises; Neko Zombie fighting with Gregory a few rooms down…"

"Talk about cat-erwauling. Hahaha!" The head of Funny Business quipped, which earned her a frown from her brother.

"...I went to check it out and found the starving cat creature in a cell. I offered him some chocolate, but he lashed out at him before telling me 'no good deed goes unpunished'. I really wish I had listened to him…" He sighed for a moment, then shook his head. "Anyway, I got a little more sleep, then I got hungry. Gregory directed me to the kitchen, where I met the chef…" The white haired boy shuddered at the thought of the candle headed chef. "...he was a scary guy. Little guy, with a candle on his hat, but carried a big knife, and had these glowing red eyes…he served me a plate of eggs, with veggies, herbs...and a heart."

"Sounds like the kind of guy to put his heart in his work. Hahahaha!"

"...I passed out when I learned what it was, and woke up in Catherine's room...she's a nurse who lives at Gregory House, who was also a pink lizard for some reason...and I use the term nurse lightly. She seemed to...enjoy drawing blood WAAAAAY too much, with needles the size of jousting lances." He shivered in terror as he remembered this.

"Bloody heck, she sounds like a real prick. Hahahaha!"

"...Actually, I'm inclined to agree...especially after she stabbed me in the rump through my room door…" Luan gasped, dropping the jokes for a moment. "...I survived the ordeal, but camped out in my room for a while after to recover."

"I hope it didn't take long…"

"I'm not sure. Time passes very differently in Gregory's world...if it passes at all…" He responded. He proceeded to tell her more about his encounter with Judgement Boy ("Trying to tip the scales in Gregory's favor, eh?"), Lost Doll ("Talk about being two faced…"), his first encounter with Cactus Gunman ("Gonna take a shot in the dark, but he sounds like he was going off half cocked."), and his first meeting with Cactus Girl ("I trussed that you were able to talk your way out of this one"). After that last pun, Lincoln had finally lost all patience with her. "Luan!"

"Yes?" She asked him with a smile on her face.

"You asked me to tell you about my times at Gregory House…" The family joker nodded to him. "...but you just keep making jokes. I thought you wanted to have a serious conversation."

"I did," She responded simply. Her lackadaisical answers were just making him more upset as he got to his feet.

"I don't believe this…" He said angrily. "You brought me all the way out here and ask me about a scarring event in my life, and you just want to make fun of me!?"

"Huh? Whoa, hold the phone-" Luan tried to say, her smile gone at this point.

"That's a huge jerk move, Luan…" Lincoln spat before she could get the rest of her thought out, turning and storming off.

"Lincoln! Wait! Let me explain!" She called out, but to no avail. She quickly stood up and went after him. Her brother responded by quickening his pace. "Lincoln! Please!" She tried again. He answered by turning and running into the nearby forest; woods he was pretty familiar with after his and Clyde's experience roughing it. Fortunately for his older sister, she knew her way around these woods too. Unfortunately, Lincoln not only had a head start, but he was starting to run now. He started darting between trees to lose Luan, but she remained doggedly on his trail. Pointed rocks jabbing her feet and the odd root making her stub her toe slowed her down a little, however. Seeing his sister wasn't giving up, the angered Lincoln took advantage of his smaller size (compared to the jester) and dove through a gap in a thick cluster of underbrush just barely large enough for him to crawl through.

By the time Luan had caught up, she couldn't see him anywhere. However, she could see some of the shrubbery moving. She frowned as she quickly considered her options: going through the brush would take too much time, and if she tried going around it, Lincoln could be long gone. She glanced up at the trees and, more specifically, the branches overhead. 'Well...they look sturdy enough,' she thought to herself as she hurriedly climbed the nearest tree. When she got to the closest, thickest branch, she looked down toward the rough patch of woodland. The rustling of the bushes gave her a clear sign of where he was going. She looked toward the next nearest branch, braced herself, and made a running leap toward it. Fortunately, she managed to land right on it, and it didn't break under her. She continued to pursue her brother via the treetops, leaping from branch to branch and even occasionally needing to swing from one branch to another like an orangutan. She had managed to catch up to him by the time he had crawled out of the brush and broke out into a run again. He was looking behind himself to make sure Luan wasn't there, while the family joker was looking ahead. To her horror, Lincoln was running right toward a thick briar patch. She needed to do something and now. With one last leap, she sprang forward and landed right in front of him. "Lincoln! Stop!" She exclaimed, holding a hand out in front of her. The one son skidded to a stop, glaring up at her.

"Luan, get out of my way!"

"No, for two very good reasons!" She responded, her eye twitching. Rather than stating the first reason, she simply pointed downward. He slowly looked down and gaped in shock at what he saw. Right in front of him, where his sister now stood, was a thick tangle of thorny briars. Thorns which were now digging into Luan's feet and lower legs. He looked back up to her face, which was very clearly contorted with pain.

* * *

A short time later, Luan was sitting on a large, flat rock, still cringing in pain as her brother was applying disinfectant to the numerous places she had been jabbed with thorns. Beside them was a large, fully stocked medical kit. "You really carry a med kit with you wherever you go?" Lincoln inquired as he treated her wounds.

"A smart, professional clown always does," She answered amidst the odd hiss of pain as the medicine stung her. "You never...know when a pratfall...will go wrong."

"...that makes sense," The white haired boy admitted as he started wrapping up her feet and legs with bandages. His anger had given way to a certain amount of guilt, seeing his sister getting hurt so much trying to keep him from getting hurt. Yeah, she had seriously upset him, but he didn't want something like that to happen to her. "...thanks for stopping me, Luan…"

"Don't worry about it, Lincoln," She replied, breathing a sigh of relief after her injuries had been dressed. "Besides, I still have another reason that I stopped you...I wanted to explain myself." The middle Loud looked up at her, silent for a moment.

"...go ahead," He told her. If she was willing to leap right into a bundle of thorns for this, he felt she more than deserved to be heard out. However, he was still somewhat cautious.

"...I'm not sure if you remember, but when you were a little guy, you used to have a lot of nightmares," She started. He opened his mouth to say something, but she raised a hand to stop him. "I promise you, I'm going somewhere with this, but I need to start there so you'll understand my logic." Lincoln slowly closed his mouth and nodded, allowing her to continue. "Anyway, whenever you couldn't get to Lori, you would come to me, Luna or Lynn for help."

"...I did?"

"Yeah. You were like Lisa's age, maybe younger, so no surprise if you don't remember. At any rate, my go to method for helping you through those nightmares was telling jokes. I learned growing up that fear was kind of a funny thing...strange funny, not necessarily ha ha funny…"

"Yeah, I caught that."

"I learned fear could have a lot of power over you if you let it, but if you laugh at it, then poof. Nothing. So I turned what scared you the most into something funny, and it seemed to really help against the nightmares. So I thought maybe the same logic could work here. You know, laughter is the best medicine and all that…" The one son was quiet following Luan's explanation. With this information, he felt a little bad about losing his temper and running away from her like that. However, his anger hadn't entirely dissipated, though he could think a bit more clearly now.

"I definitely see where you're coming from, Luan," He said as he sat down beside her. "But there are a couple things you overlooked in your logic...the first being that I'm not a ki-a little kid anymore." He was quick to correct himself, because technically he was still a child and he knew Luan would have pointed that out to him. "That's the least of the problems here, though. The second...well, put yourself in my shoes for a moment; you just went through a horrifying experience. One where you could have possibly died several times over. Now, while you're describing the event to someone you thought cared about you, they started making jokes about it and laughing. How would you feel?" The pun loving brunette took a moment to think it over, then had a moment of realization before her face fell.

"I...I hadn't really considered that…"

"Granted, I probably wouldn't have been as upset if you just told me right from the get go this was what you were up to. I just thought you were making light of what happened to me at the time. This leads me to the third, and most important, issue: this really happened. It's one thing to joke about nightmares, but this actually happened to me. When you make fun of something that actually happened...it just comes off as hurtful and disrespectful." Luan slapped her palm against her forehead as she groaned. How could she have missed that!? As a comedian, she should have known better than that.

"I'm sorry, Linc…" She said, tears building up in her eyes as she hung her head, looking down at the ground. "I was just trying to help...but I guess laughter isn't the best medicine for everything…"

"I know now, Luan…" He responded, patting her on the shoulder. "...I know your heart was in the right place, and you weren't entirely wrong." The head of Funny Business slowly looked over at her brother, sniffling slightly. "I do need to talk more about my time at Gregory House. I won't get over it anytime soon if I don't open up more about it."

"Yeah...I guess that's true," Luan responded, wiping the potential tears from her eyes. "In which case, do you want to keep telling me about it? I won't make any more jokes. Scout's honor." She said, raising her hand in a sort of scout sign.

"Alright...but first, I have a question: why didn't you make any jokes about Gregory when I brought him up?" The one son inquired, curiosity getting the better of him.

"I thought he didn't need my help. He could look like a joke all by himself," The third oldest of the Loud children responded. Lincoln stifled a snicker at that, which made Luan smile slightly. "No more after that. I swear," She promised as she reached her arm around him and pulled him a little closer to her as he continued on with his story; helping Cactus Girl find her brother, the potentially deadly game, Frog Fortuneteller, meeting Haiku, his chat with Neko Zombie, his encounter with Gregory's mother, and his brief stint in the Judgement Factory. Whenever her brother started to look uncomfortable or troubled, she tried to comfort him as best she could while keeping her jokes to herself.

"...after I left the room of Judgement Boys, I eventually found my way to a little dog fairy. She said she could show me the way out, but I wasn't ready to go yet…" The one son continued.

"You wanted to say goodbye to your friends first, and get the pop gun Cactus Girl gave you," Luan finished his sentence, surprising her brother greatly.

"How did you know that?"

"No one told you?" Luan inquired in surprise. Lincoln shook his head in response. "Well, after we found you in your room and Lisa revived your body-"

"Revived!?" The middle Loud gasped before covering his mouth. He had almost forgotten they were outside.

"Yeah...we thought...thought you had died…" Luan admitted, getting misty eyed again. "Thankfully, Lucy was there. She could tell (I don't know how) that your soul was missing. Once your body was responsive again, she tried her darnedest to find your soul with her crystal ball. She managed to find you about the time you were coming out of the graveyard."

"...were all you watching the whole time? How much did you see and hear?" He asked, sounding worried.

"Not the whole time, no," Luan explained. "We saw what happened with that wacko musician and...your talk with Cactus Girl..." she admitted, knowing he would find out eventually. "...and the time of your escape." The white haired boy went silent as he let that sink in. His family had heard his heart to heart with his friend? A part of him was quite worried about that. However, he remembered how he thought he had heard Lola and Luna's voice during his encounter with the pretentious record player, and all their voices in the tv tunnel. So it really was them? They were really trying to help him? "Uh...Lincoln?" Luan asked, sounding a little concerned. This snapped the young man out of his pondering.

"Sorry...got a little lost in my thoughts…" The one son confessed. He decided he would put some more thought into this revelation when they got back home.

"We should probably head back," The clown of the family suggested, looking at her watch. "We've been gone for a while. Wouldn't want anyone to worry about us."

"Yeah, probably," The white haired boy agreed as he stood up and helped Luan stand. As the two of them headed back to the river, Luan had only one thing on her mind:

'Well, that was a complete bust…' Her one plan to help her brother and it almost backfired in her face. In her mind, she was stuck on square one and she was fresh out of ideas. What was she going to do now to make amends to Lincoln?

"...Luan, do you think you could do me a little favor?" He suddenly asked as he helped her walk towards the place where they had left their shoes.

"Huh? Oh, sure, Linc. Name it."

"I want to talk to Lynn," He told her, which made her look at him in astonishment. "However, she's been spending so much time out of the house, it's near impossible, and in the rare cases I can find her at home, she makes an excuse just to leave…"

"How do you know she's just making excuses?" The third oldest sister asked.

"She said she had to get to football practice before we left, but Mom and Dad had grounded her," He pointed out to her. Luan couldn't really argue that point, and with how melancholy the sporty sister had been lately, she didn't look like she had the energy to do much of anything. "As I was saying, I want to talk to her, but I can't seem to catch her. At the same time, I don't want to force her to talk to me if she isn't ready...do you think you could help there? You know, give her a nudge in the right direction or what not?"

"Hmmmm. Yeah, I could do that. Or at least I could try."

"Thanks Luan," He said, giving her a weak smile.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the house, most of the family was congregated in the living room, mindlessly watching tv. Well, for the most part. Lily and Leni were the only ones actually watching. Luna was staring off into space, Lisa was writing something down in her notebook, Lola and Lana were discussing something in private, and Lynn was sitting behind the couch not saying a word. Lori, out of all of them, seemed to be the most out of it. She had said hardly a word to anything of them since their parents had left. She didn't even go into her usual 'I'm in charge' spiel; she just gave a half hearted "don't tear the house down…" before she lost herself in her own head. The only one who wasn't downstairs was Lucy, though she was descending the stairs at that moment. She glanced over at the collective of her sisters in the living room.

'...almost everyone,' She thought to herself. 'No sign of Luan, and Mom and Dad are out…' She just stared at them all for a moment without their notice. 'You might not get another chance like this again, Lucy,' She mentally told herself. 'So what if they aren't all here? You can tell Mom and Dad and Luan when they get back. Do it now, before you lose your nerve…' She took a deep breath, sighed softly, then finished her descent before stepping over beside the crowd of siblings. "Everyone...I have something I need to say…"


End file.
